THE PEDOLOGY OF SEVERAL PROFILES
DEVELOPED IN THE CALCAREOUS DRIFT OF EASTERN MICHIGAN

by

ALLAN HERBERT

A

THESIS

Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan
State College of Agriculture and Applied Science
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Soil Science
1947 ^

ProQuest Number: 10008387

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is grateful to Professor J. 0. Veatch
for his encouragement,

advice,

and guidance in

the course of conducting the research reported
in this manuscript.

For assistance in the more

technical phases of the problem, he is indebted
to Dr. Donald G. Sherman and Dr. Sherman Gillam,
formerly of the Soil Science Department; also to
Dr. John Young,
ment;

formerly of the Geology Depart­

and to Dr. Roy P. MatelskL.

uishes to thank Dr. C. E. uni**

Finally, he

and other mem­

bers of the Soil Science Department

for their

sympathetic interest and help*

193312

THE PEDOLOGY OF SEVERAL PROFILES
DEVELOPED IN THE CALCAREOUS DRIFT OF EASTERN MICHIGAN

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
General
• .....................
Review of literature
Glaciology and physiography • •
Soil profiles
. . . . .
Investigational techniques
. .

5
8
12

.

14

PRESENTATION
The profiles . . . . . . .
Physical comparisons
Volume weight and porosity
• •
Particle size distributions
• •
Color
• • * » • * •
Chemical comparisons
Total chemical analyses .
. .
.................
Mineralogy
Carbonate profiles
• .
. •

24
28
34
44
56
67
76

DISCUSSION
Pedologic interpretations
Podzolization....................
Heavy mineral reference . . • •
Genesis of the St Clair solum
. .
Soil color
. . . . . . .
Conclusions and summary
• . . . .
REFERENCES

79
82
85
91
93

.............................. 95

APPENDICES
I. Technique of physical analyses
Volume weight and porosity
. . .
Particle size distributions
. . .
Color
* •
• • •
» • •
II. Technique of chemical analyses
Total chemical analyses •
.
. .
Mineralogical analyses
. . . .
III. Taxonomy and descriptive legend
Key to the soils...................
Profile descriptions
•
• • •

103
104
105
106
110
116
122

THE PEDOLOGY OF SEVERAL PROFILES
DEVELOPED IN THE CALCAREOUS DRIFT OF EASTERN MICHIGAN

During the past fifty years, a mass of information concern­
ing Michigan soils has been collected and documented,

A major

portion of these records has been collated, assembled, and inter
published as soil survey maps and reports, and bulletins dealing
with considerations of agronomy and husbandry. Most of these
early studies were, in fact, initiated and accomplished primarily
for the purpose of answering questions of immediate benefit to
society in general and the farmer in particular.

The science of

soils that has evolved in the course of this work is therefore
somewhat biased, being inherently pragmatic in conception.
Investigations that are fundamentally necessary to the evol­
ution of a logical pedology have consequently suffered from a
natural and understandable lack of emphasis.

The question of

whether or not expediency has been over-emphasized is not,

of

course, within the perception of present-day investigators. There
exists, however, an appreciation of the need for additional data
relating to soil genesis, morphology, and taxonomy.
OBJECTIVES

This investigation was initiated in an attempt to

clarify several fundamental pedologic considerations that have
so far escaped elaboration, particularly with respect to most
Michigan soils.

It is an outgrowth of five summers of intensive

6
study in Midland, Newaygo, and Sanilac counties in the southern
peninsula. In these counties are encountered the so-called GrayBrown Podsolic soils, together with many related types bridging
the transition to the Podzol region in the northern part of the
State. As elsewhere in glaciated landscapes there are found here
a great variety of profiles, thought to be the result of soil
forming processes operating on and within a characteristic heter­
ogeneity of glacial materials deposited and, in places, reworked
in many differ©at ways.
this investigation attempts to supply some conclusions con­
cerning the nature of these calcareous till materials, especially
with regard to those found in the eastern part of the State;

to

show what changes have evolved in these materials as a result of
the work of soil forming processes; and to explain how these
changes were brought about.
At this point it must be explained that the study deals with
changes that are evident in subsoils. By this is meant that con­
siderations of the surface or humus layer, technically designated
as the Ai horizon, and the superimposed organic materials have
not been included in the following discussion.

There are several

reasons for neglecting these surface layers which have already
received the nearly undivided attention of agronomists.

For one,

vegetational differences of the series in question are not too
extreme; all of the soils are hence presumed to have supported a

7
primarily deciduous vegetative cover. Differences exhibited by
their respective solums are therefore thought not to be caused
by variations in the nature of organic surface accumulations.
Moreover, it is presumed that the humus (A^) layer differs
from the A^ layer only in that the former contains certain quan­
tities of various infiltrated products derived primarily from
the decomposition of plant residues returned to the soil surface.
Although there is no particular evidence or precedent to support
the assumption (nor, for that matter, to refute it), the findings
and conclusions presented herewith are based on the belief that
significant morphological differences in the profiles under
study are to be found primarily in the A^ and B horizons.

The

validity of this assumption is enhanced by accepted theories
concerning the part played by eluviation, and particularly, illuviation in profile genesis.
A final reason for disregarding surface materials is the
practical necessity for limiting the scope of a study of this
nature which, to carry to an ultimate and final conclusion, re­
quires more than the efforts of a single individual.

8
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
The broad scope of this study embraces a large body of lit­
erature dealing not only with investigational techniques but al­
so describing the history and nature of the specific area under
consideration* As indicated by the appended maps, this area in­
cludes four townships located in the southeastern part of Sanilac
County in southern Michigan.

Situated on the west shore of Lake

Huron about midway down the Thumb, this region is of considerable
interest to the glaciologist owing to many evidences of post­
glacial lake fluctuations found here.

The origin of the parent

materials of the principal soils discussed herein and especially
their manner of deposition have therefore been subjected to thor­
ough scrutiny.

GLACIOLOGY AND PHYSIOGRAPHY

Leverett and Taylor have devel­
oped in intricate detail the gla­

cial and post-glacial evolution of Michigan (58-42, 68). Briefly,
the Pleistocene history (40) is a story of the succession of cli­
matic cycles and their resultant influence on land surfaces.
Four times this region was over-ridden by continental ice-sheets.
Local advances were in the form of a lobe which pushed generally
southward down, and was more-or-less guided and confined by, the
Huron valley. Minor westward pressures pushed the ice-sheet out
over the confines of the Huron depression and onto the adjacent

9
highland shelf.

Cold cycles marked by glacial advances were fol­

lowed by warm cycles when the ice front melted back; and during
warm inter-glacial periods, generally longer in duration than gla­
cial periods, newly formed land surfaces weathered and eroded.
The surface drift and present landscape, on the whole construc­
tive in character, are inherited from the fourth and final glacia­
tion. As the last ice sheet melted, the -waters so formed were imponded along the glacier front in the form of lakes which persis­
ted for long periods of time. The history of these lakes is now
fairly well known, their various stages and basins having been
deduced from many old beaches that are in some places conspicuous
surface features.
According to Leverett and Taylor (38, 39, 41, 42, 68) the
western half of the area under consideration# is a lake-bed plain
formed when debris accumulated as the ice melted in lakes conr 6-1

fined along the glacier front. The average elevation of this
plain is some 150 feet above the present level of Lake Huron.
In the southwest an area of greater elevation is marked by a
slightly rolling surface which is thought to be representative
of land-laid till.

In the northern part of the lake-bed, a small

portion of rolling, sandy moraine (the Juanita) forms a minor el-

*

See Map 1 in the endpocket for a diagram of surface features.

10
evation noted for its numerous boulder traces, which are thought
to mark a relatively short stop of the ice-front*

Elongated,

crescent-shaped beaches distributed systematically across this
plain indicate successive stages of Lake Whittlesey as it sub­
sided eastward into the Tyre-Ubly drainage channel, at one period
a major outlet for glacial waters from the Saginaw ice-lobe.
This major valley, now occupied by the Black River, bounds the
lake-bed on the east* It is in turn confined on the east by the
strongly-developed linear Port Huron moraine.

This pronounced

feature marks the limits of a distinct readvance of the continen­
tal ic9-front as distinguished from a mere halt in the course of
its recession.* It commands the plain on its west by some 30 or
40 feet, rising to a maximum elevation of over 760 feet above sea
level or 180 feet above the present Lake Huron*

The Port Huron

moraine falls eastward on an average slope of 50 feet per mile to
the wave-cut bluffs that border the lake beaches.

*

A gently slop­

Irregularities on the east side of this moraine suggest that
thj6;ice border withdrew to the northeast, slight readvances
being marked by small lateral spurs diverging southeast from
the main morainic ridge. A unique border drainage pattern
(See Map 2) is formed by several small streams flowing south
and then directly east into the present lake.

XI
ing plain thus formed is cut by minor border drainage valleys and
by numerous streams that have trenched narrow, steep-sided chan­
nels.* These small youthful valleys grow progressively deeper
to become confluent with the lake at the foot of the bluff which
is nearly vertical in a few places and rises to an average height
of about 50 feet above the present water line. Old beach ridges
representing successive stages of lake subsidence are conspicuous
features superimposed on this trenched plain; the highest and most
prominent of these is Warren Beach,nearly 140 feet above lake
level.
The Port Huron moraine and the lake-bed plain on the east
are underlaid by remnants of pre-Wisconsin drift which emerge in
places near the bottom of the lake-shore bluff. Under the gla­
cial drifts are thinly-laminated blue shales of the Coldwater
♦

formation. On the west, these, shales are overlaid by Marshall
sandstone formations. Basement rock strata dip westward. Drift
depositions do not conform to rock surfaces but vary in thick­
ness, with no apparent relation to basement conformations, from
about 20 to over 250 feet (25)•

* Map 2 shows the intricate stream dissection that has accom­
panied the evolution of this trenched plain.

12
SOIL PROFILES

A detailed study of the soils in this area re­
vealed most profiles similar to many already

described in survey literature (61).* The four principal series
on which this investigation is focused —
ver, Napanee, and Brookston —

the St Clair, Cono­

have been generally defined in

terms of horizon characteristics and topography.

So also have

the incidental Isabella, Miami, and Bellefontaine that occasion­
ally serve as reference profiles.
Miami, Conover, and Brookston profiles were all early recog­
nized in the calcareous drifts of Ohio and Indiana. Soon after
they were defined (1, 8, 17) they were also encountered in Mich­
igan drifts, Miami initially appearing in a map of the Pontiac
area published in 1904 (74). Bellefontaine was also first de­
fined in Ohio in 1912 (13), shortly thereafter being encountered
in the gravelly moraines of Michigan.

Napanee and Isabella were

early separated from Miami (75, 70), the former because of its
heavy texture and imperfect drainage, the latter because of its
red hue. Finally, in 1929, the St Clair series was separated
from Miami (15) because the St Clair appeared somewhat lighter
in hue, displayed a less conspicuous color profile and occurred
on what were thought to be water-laid rather than land-laid mor­

* A complete taxonomy is presented in Appendix III.

15
aines; In addition, the St Clair was thought to be distinguished
by a relatively high shale content (5)• Recent descriptions of
these seven profiles as they are now defined are contained in sur­
vey reports for the Michigan counties of Lenawee (67), Newaygo
(50), and Ingham (71).
Excepting the general and rather stylized descriptions to
be found in the survey reports, there are very little data con­
cerning the chemical and physical composition of Michigan soil
series developed in clayey tills. In 1925 McCool, Veatch and
Spurway published the results of detailed observations of some
sixteen selected Michigan profiles; they concluded that their
laboratory findings pointed to fairly consistent physical and
chemical differences for the separate horizons as they had been
interpreted in the field (44). Analysis of some fourteen addi­
tional samples were subsequentally completed (72) to confirm these
early conclusions.
Marbut*s concepts (45) were based on data obtained chiefly
from Ohio and Indiana in the Gray-Brown Podzolic region, and from
Minnesota and Wisconsin in the Podzolic zone.

In these states a

rather large quantity of such information has accumulated.

The

work of Harmer in Minnesota is an early example of the emphasis
placed on completed chemical and physical studies (25)• His con­
clusions concerning the essentially uniform chemical characteris­
tics of local drifts have been confirmed by subsequent investi—

14
gations (34^ 51).

INVESTIGATIONAL TECHNIQUES

The literature on chemical and
mechanical analytical methods is

so well-known that there is little necessity for a complete re­
view in this work. The chemical procedures used in this study
are those summarized in the 4th edition of the Official Methods
of the A.O.A.C. (63). Mechanical analyses were accomplished by
means of the hydrometer method perfected by Botyoucos (5, 6, 7).
Soil Color

A far more complex problem is encountered in the

quantitative measurement and expression of soil color.

Soil

scientists have been studying color problems for many years.

So

numerous are the difficulties, however, that improvements in color
classification since the preliminary studies (55, 69) of nearly
a quarter of a century ago have been imperceptible. The diffi­
culties are of two kinds.

First of all, although advances have

been made in nomenclature (29, 57, 60) there are no well-defined
soil color standards to serve as a basis for comparisons.

The

use of such preliminary standards as have been developed is, more­
over, hampered by personal factors which necessarily enter into
color comparisons. The personal equation can be eliminated only
with difficulty because in any set of discrete color standards
there are gaps of hue, brilliance and chroma which must be brid­
ged by interpolation.

The complexities of this problem are indi­

15
cated by the fact that the National Bureau of Color Standards and
the Inter-Society Color Council have devised a color "solid* giv­
ing the three dimensional relationships of hue, brilliance and
chroma, and have in this manner quantitatively named and defined
312 colors. Although this number is considered sufficient for
naming colors from memory, it is estimated that an average per—
son can distinguish over 10 million color surfaces (33, 57, 52).
Second, the field investigator is hampered by seasonal
changes within the solum, by color vagaries dependent upon tex­
ture and structure and the accompanying attributes of shadow and
dispersion; and finally by the very nature of soil colors which
are seldom evenly distributed but more often occur as mixtures,
as for example, a matrix color modified by minute mottlings of
hue, chroma, and brilliance. A lack of a definitive terminology
together with the complexities of the surface to be described
has naturally resulted in a confusion of descriptive terms.

The

problem is fundamentally physiological in nature since it depends
on the perception of stimuli; any two observers cannot, therefore,
expect to perceive a given set of stimuli in the same manner, let
alone describe them.
A psychological factor has also arisen in recent years to
abet an already confused issue; this is the ever-increasing use
of color in our social environment, a natural result of advances
in creative chemistry and color reproduction processes, so that

16
in printed matter, for example, the encounter of all variations
in hue, brilliance, and chroma have become matters of everyday
experience* An appreciation of color standards has not, however,
kept pace with the use of color* Indeed, the demands of our com­
petitive social system, as exemplified in the rise of the adver­
tising arts, has resulted in the development of hundreds of new
color names which eventually conflict with the more conservative,
little-known standard names* It is thus not uncommon to encoun­
ter in field notes the use of such terms as beige, buff, tan and
similar words that have migrated from the retail fabric jargon*
There are two general approaches to the problem of colorime­
try*

In one, the stimulus of the color is investigated and the

color is defined on the basis of wave-length intensities or fre­
quencies. In the second, surfaces are matched with secondary
standards and described in terms of the color of these standards.
A more valid approach to the problem at hand was considered to
be afforded by the latter, which was selected because it deals
with what is seen.
In order to appreciate the ramifications of colorimetry it
is necessary to understand that any given color is described in
terms of three attributes —

hue, brilliance, and chroma. Hue

is the attribute which permits color to be classified as red, yel­
low, blue, green, and so forth. Brilliance defines the lightness
or darkness of any color, and chroma describes its intensity (that

17
is, its weakness or strongness)*

Each of these attributes is, in

turn, defined by scales of psychologically graded steps which may
be treated quantitatively*

Using these attributes, all conceiv­

able colors are arranged in a three-dimensional system, each sep­
arated and fixed by the three ordinal values of hue, brilliance,
and chroma*

Important features of this concept are that five

hues (red, yellow, green, blue, and purple) complete a basic cir­
cle concentric about the axis of brilliance, the latter black at
one extreme and whits at the other*

Chroma is the distance from

the axis outward in the hue plane (53, 57).
A comparative method having been selected, the next task
was to devise or adapt a satisfactory technique of matching soil
samples with standard colors. Already proved was the Maxwell—
Munsell technique which utilizes spinning disks of standardized
and calibrated colors in juxtaposition to prepared samples.
Disks with radial slits, allowing several to slip together with
a portion of each showing, are used*

These afford a practical

method of varying combinations of several color ingredients*

Su­

perimposed on a calibrated base, the exposed portions of the
standard disks are interpreted in terms of percentages, thus al­
lowing ready conversion to a numerical system of expression (52) .
Preliminary studies have disclosed that four colors —

red 4/9

(red hue, 4 in brilliance and 9 in chroma) yellow 8/8, black 1/0,
and white 9/0 encompass the range of colors displayed by most

18
soil samples (57).
Mineralogy

Less ephemeral than the color problem (but just as

complicated) are the mineralogical techniques. In this field*
however, many analytical procedures have already been perfected
by sedimentary geologists whose methods were readily adapted to
the investigation at hand. A convenient starting point is the
classification of sedimentary minerals into two groups on the
basis of their specific gravities (£). The value 2.85 is gen­
erally arbitrarily accepted as dividing point between so-called
light and heavy minerals.

The light fraction, which includes

quartz, calcite, feldspar, the clay minerals and micas, usually
comprises about 98$ of a sediment. The heavy fraction, which
constitutes less than 2$ of most samples, includes a much greater
variety of mineral species and is therefore considered more use­
ful in describing the characteristics of a sediment or soil mate­
rial (27).
Much effort has been expended in an attempt to arrange soil
minerals in order of their resistance to weathering. Zircon,
tourmaline, quartz, rutile and apatite are usually considered
relatively stable (56, 66, 51, 27, 48), although there is some
evidence that even zircon (21), and certainly garnet (27) and
apatite (51), are relatively soluble under certain conditions.
A number of mineralogical investigations have been made of

19
the heavy assemblages of glacial till (£2, 35), most of the stud­
ies, however, being directed towards the separation, of the various
drifts of the Pleistocene period and a comparison of sediments of
different geologic ages (36). A notable conclusion from Kruger's
work (34) is that few mineral species are diagnostic of any one
drift sheet.

In other words, the same association of heavy min­

erals tends to dominate all Pleistocene drifts. Kruger concluded
that a fairly certain identification of a particular drift can be
obtained from a knowledge of its carbonate content and heavy min­
eral assemblage.
Heavy mineral studies of the soil solum, as distinguished
from parent material studies, are not numerous* In Australia,
residual surface soils were found to be related to parent rocks
(10) • Studies of glacial soils in England and Scotland have con­
firmed the Australian conclusions; it was also deduced that local
differences in the silicate content of surface horizons were a re­
flection of variations in the local parent rocks from which a ma­
jority of the tills were known to be derived (£6, 28) •
In the United States, McCaughey and Fry (43) were early petrographers who confined their efforts to pedology.

Studying

sand and silt fractions of many samples from every part of the
country, they discovered that epidote and hornblende are common
in most soils. They concluded that any common rock mineral will
be found in soil, a conclusion that suggests the possibility of

20
nearly all surface soils being contaminated by windblown materials.
Jeffries and White were among the first in this country to
delve into the mineralogy of soil profiles (50, 51) • Their work
revealed that in the eastern states soils developed from lime­
stones, dolomites, and shales were all similar in their quali­
tative mineral content. They concluded that heavy mineral spe­
cies vary more in proportion and total quantities than in number,
and that a good comparison of different soils might be obtained
by determining the relative percentages of only outstandingly com­
mon heavy minerals*

Cady compared heavy minerals from A and C

horizons of several podzol and brown podzolic forest soils to
show that podzolization significantly reduces the amount of horn­
blende in solum horizons.

Epidote, garnet, and magnetite appear

to be little affected.
Mickelson (51) investigated the heavy mineral assemblages
of three soils of the Miami catena. His results indicate that
weathering processes contributing to the formation of Brookston
and Miami profiles in Central Ohio are probably not similar.

The

most conspicuous difference in the heavy mineral assemblage of
these soils was in the presence of considerable apatite in all
horizons of the Brookston profile; in the Miami, on the contrary,
apatite was found only in relatively unweathered material. He
also discusses the genesis and morphology of Miami, Bethel, and
Brookston profiles as indicated by changes in their heavy mineral

21
species in the v&rious profile horizons.

A significant trend is

noted in this work, which shows the influence of Marshall and oth­
er modernists:

Mickelson treats his data on a volume rather than

a weight basis to reveal fallacies that were unapparent in pre­
vious comparisons. His conclusions depart in some measure from
accepted concepts of soil genesis, especially in de-emphasizing
the role of illuviation in the evolution of the still rather
youthful profiles developing in glaciated regions.
The loessial soils of the mid-western states have received
considerable attention in late years (2, 27). Pertinent find­
ings are that color in loess is due to the type and quantity of
clay minerals present (54), and that visual differences in loess
and loessial soils are more closely associated with variations
in carbonate content than with variations in texture (64).
Heavy mineral studies of Michigan soils have so far been
limited to sandy materials.

Johnsgard (32) discovered that a

sandy ground-water podzol showed a marked depletion of hornblende,
augite, and actinolite minerals, as well as feldspars, throughout
the solum; a half-bog profile, however, did not reflect this type
of weathering. After studying seven widely separated sandy podzol
profiles, Matelski (48) found no significant differences in heavy
mineral assemblages over a wide area. A significant variation
was discovered, however, in the relative quantities of heavy spe­
cies present in fine sand fractions.

In other words heavy mineral

22

particle-size distributions were proved to be strikingly dissimi­
lar; characteristics of these distributions differed moreover,
from horizon to horizon.

Most resistant were garnets and opaque

species; least resistant was hornblende.

In these sandy profiles

the B horizon organic material appeared to be an effective weather­
ing agent with respect to hornblende. B horizons were therefore
found to contain smaller quantities of unweathered heavy minerals
than either the A or the C horizons.
The application of petrographic methods to soil studies has
been summarized by Fry (19).

Techniques of sampling and count­

ing have been perfected by others (47, 11, 20, 65, 46). A study
of these investigations leads to the conclusion that the most
practical approach is to study heavy minerals of a single size
fraction (16, 24, 59) after treating with suitable reagents to
insure that all interfering coatings have been removed (11, 46,
48) • Probable errors involved in accomplishing the necessary
microscopic counts have been analyzed by Dryden (18) and Eittenhouse (58) who furnish useful curves to show how many grains
must be counted to yield a desired degree of accuracy.
This brief review of literature has disclosed an array of
methods and techniques employed by numerous investigators in
the past 25 years.

The summarized studies have been directed

towards a variety of objectives, and have dealt with different
kinds of materials subjected to many kinds of weathering. With

25
regard to pedology, the information so far obtained is only frag­
mentary, although it does shed considerable light on many aspects
of soil genesis, morphology, and taxonomy.

In Michigan where but

a few sandy profiles have been examined, pedology is not too far
advanced.

This study represents an application of the methods

and techniques previously discussed to several fine-textured Mich­
igan profiles in the hope that information so revealed will con­
tribute to such knowledge as already exists. The selected pro­
files are of interest because they (or very similar profiles) are
widely distributed in the Southern Peninsula, because they are
typical of the productive and fertile soils of the State, and be­
cause they are thought to comprise the most mature drainage catena
developed under the prevailing climate*
The results of this study are presented in the following
pages. The St Clair, Napanee, Conover, and Brookston soils on
which the study is focused, are defined by brief descriptions
together with such comments as are necessary to a proper under­
standing of the relationships between these four series, the
accidents of position and drainage under which they have devel­
oped, and such field observations as appeared to require the
separation of these closely related taxonomic units. There are
also presented certain results obtained from an application of
the afore-mentioned techniques and an analysis of such pertin­
ent data as have been procured.

Information concerning phys-

24
ical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics of the four
selected profiles and occasional reference profiles is discussed
under separate headings, And finally, the findings of these
convergent lines of investigation are brought together to con­
clude the work.

To facilitate the presentation, descriptions

of methods and techniques have been segregated in Appendices I
and II, An outline of the taxonomy of the area is presented in
Appendix III,

THE PROFILES
There is no need to repeat here the detailed descriptions
of the St Clair, Napanee, Conover, and Brookston series, and
of the SO other closely related profiles that are found in the
area under study, A brief review of their chief similarities
and differences is, however, necessary to appreciate their inter­
relationships,
Maps 1 and 3 show that the St Clair series is confined al­
most entirely to the elevated portions of the rolling uplands
that comprise the Port Huron Moraine,

Intimately associated

with this automorphic* series are small areas of Conover and

* The adjective automorphic is here used as an antonym of the

25
Brookston developed in successively lower drainage positions.
The hydromorphic Brookston, hydroperiodic Conover, and auto­
morphic St Clair are all members of a single drainage catena.

adjective hydromorphic» An automorphic profile is distinguished
by characteristics that reflect the balanced influence of soil
forming forces as opposed to the predominance of a single factor
(for example, water-logged conditions which produce hydromorphic
profiles)• But automorphic carries more specific implications
than the term zonal for which it is sometimes loosely substituted.
An automorphic profile may be a zonal profile.

Its parent mater­

ial, however, must have been uniform when first exposed to soil
forming agencies, and it must have been characterized by a wide
range of particle sizes and a varied mineralogic content so that,
once exposed, the maximum effect of soil forming forces becomes
apparent. An automorphic profile thus must have contained with­
in itself the potentialities of forming widely differentiated
horizons after exposure to the balanced influence of soil for­
mation factors.

In this sense of the term, Coloma is not an

automorphic profile even though it might be considered a zonal
representative of a sand catena. Hydroperiodic describes a pro­
file that is neither automorphic nor hydromorphic, but has rather
resulted from the dominant influence of a fluctuating water-table
which gives rise to alternating aerobic (oxidizing) and anaerobic
(reducing conditions).

26
In other words, these three soils are thought to have developed
in similar parent materials under the influence of different de­
grees of drainage, different degrees of weathering, and possibly
different kinds of weathering.
The Conover profile attains its maximum development on the
trenched lake plain east of the moraine where it is associated
not so intimately with St Clair as with soils developed in
sandy nonconforming materials sorted by water and in some places
by wind. Brookston and Napanee are encountered on the lake-bed
plain west of the Black River Valley where elaborate ditch sy­
stems have recently drained the land.

There is little doubt

that the Brookston profile reached its maturity in situations
which, within the memory of the present inhabitants, were satu­
rated for a major portion of the year.

The Napanee series, al­

though intimately associated with Brookston, developed where
these lake-bed materials were elevated above the general level
of the plain so that both surface and presumably subsoil layers
were relatively dry.
According to early settlers, all of this land supported a
dense deciduous cover although there was some differentiation
as to species. Beech and sugar maple with local admixtures of
basswood, white oak, and pine dominated the vegetation on the
St Clair soils. Brookston was characterized by elm, ash, silver

27
maple, hickory, and swamp white oak.

Conover and Napanee supported

a mixture of these two cover types.
To the field observer there are no readily apparent lithologic differences between these four series. Fragments of shale,
limestone, sandstone and a great variety of crystalline rocks ap­
pear as dominant and as variable in one parent material as in an­
other.

Crystalline rather than sedimentary materials are predomi-

ant among the erratic cobbles and boulders, all of which are wellrounded and polished, exhibiting evidences of much grinding and
wear. Polished surfaces on many of these erratics are surprisingly
well-preserved, indicating that certain of the harder minerals have
been little affected by weathering forces.

Small rock fragments

less than 5 mm in size are dominated by soft consolidated sediments.
Brown, slightly weathered shale, possibly of local origin, is very
common while limestone fragments constitute between 7 and 15$ of
the total bulk of these fragments.

Formerly consolidated sediments

are probably the source of a large proportion of the finer particles
in all parent materials.
In summary, the St Clair, Conover, and Brookston series to­
gether form a drainage catena.

Despite essentially similar parent

material characteristics, field observations indicate sufficient
solum dissimilarities to justify the differentiation of these
three profiles.

Napanee is an anomaly in this scheme because St

28

Clair or Conover might normally be expected to develop where
Napanee has been mapped* Although Napanee exhibits sane charac­
teristics of a hydroperiodic type, expecially in the mottled sub­
soil colors, and also of the automorphic type in that it has a
conspicuous B horizon, it is not considered a zonal profile.

In

recognition of its heavy-textured B horizon, Napanee is perhaps
best categorized as a planosol*
Rather than the differences, it was perhaps the many similar­
ities noted to exist between these profiles that prompted a further,
more detailed examination of their parent materials and solum.
The remainder of this discussion is devoted to results obtained
from several convergent methods of analysis and comparison.

PHYSICAL COMPARISONS
Characteristics often employed to describe soil and soil
materials are those of mass and size.

In order to determine the

uniformity or lack of uniformity exhibited by the profiles in
question, the volume weights, specific gravities, and particle
size distributions of the Ag, B, and C horizons in each profile
were measured.

In addition colors were compared in an effort to

reveal inter-relationships both in the proposed taxonomy and in
their morphological characteristics.

Details of sampling and

laboratory techniques are recorded in Appendix I.

29
VOLUME WEIGHT AND POROSITY

In this work volume weights are
highly important because they are

used for converting weight percentages into volume relationships,
final conclusions being based where possible on comparisons of
quantities per lOOcc of the original sample. The values listed
in Table 1 are therefore of considerable interest since they con­
stitute the basis for deductions presented in later sections.
Table 1 reveals that local variations in parent material
densities are slight. On the other hand great differences in
volume weight and specific gravity appear to have resulted from
weathering. With the exception of the Brookston profile, volume
weight differences between any two soils are less than differences
between any two horizons of a single profile.

Judging only from

density changes, the Brookston series is the least weathered of
the four.

Changes in the other three are of a strikingly similar

magnitude.

An explanation of these roughly equal changes is most

likely found in the fact that weathering has resulted chiefly in
>a loss of carbonates, a point that will later be amplified.
Tables 6 and 7 show that the carbonate content of the three par­
ent materials was about the same; it was not great enough, how­
ever, to constitute a continuous system within the matrix. Upon
its removal, therefore, the structure did not collapse but merely
developed a higher degree of porosity as the carbonate particles
disappeared.

Since the carbonate contents were similar, the

20

Table 1.

Volume weight, specific gravity, and porosity of the
selected profiles.

Profile

St Clair j Comover

Drainage position

Automorphic

Napanee Brookston
Hydromorphie

Parent material (C)
Volume weight*
Specific gravity*
Porosity*-

1.76
2*67
34.1

1.69
2.67

Eltrviated zone (A2)
Volume weight*
Specific gravity*
Porosity-*-

1.71

1.73

2.66

2.66

36.6

35.6

34.9

1.37
2.65
48.3

1.39
2.65
47.5

1.33
2.65
49.8

2.66

1.55
2.70

1.56

1.59
2.69
40.9

1.48
2.67
44.6

1.41
46.9

niuviated zone (B)
Volume weigit*
Specific gravity*
Porosity*-

42*6

2.69
42.0

* Average of duplicate samples, each measured twice.
* Average of duplicate measurements on a single sample.
+ In per cent by volume, calculated from the values above.
increases in porosity in the various solums were similar. In
this respect Napanee appears more closely related to the auto—
raorphic St Clair than to the hydromorphie Brookston, a relation­
ship that will be seen to prevail in other characteristics.
These data illustrate another point of interest in that
porosity is seen to decrease with depth, reaching a minimum in
the parent material.

If the illuviated zone truly represents a

51
zone of accumulated materials translocated downward from the
leached layers above, there must have occurred some expansion in
volume within the B horizon proper* In other words, since there
has been no increase in density of the illuviated zone, but rather
a decrease in density with respect to the parent material, then
the weathering of this particular layer must have resulted in com­
plementary increases over that volume originally occupied by the
unweathered materials. This aspect of illuviation has seldom
been mentioned by soil morphologists, perhaps because it is a dis­
crepancy that cannot be fully explained by present theories con­
cerning podzolization in till materials.

There is a possibility,

of course, that some expansion has occurred within the B layer al­
though its structural characteristics lead to the deduction that
contraction, rather than expansion, has been dominant*
This conclusion is even more apparent when it is understood
that only stable structural units are represented by the volume
weight and porosity values, that major interstices resulting from
shrinkage of the structural units and other spaces such as worm
holes and large root channels were excluded by careful sample
selection.

It is thus apparent that the low values character­

izing any Ag horizon actually represent degradation caused by a
loss of material from within the structural unit proper.

Apply­

ing this assumption to the respective B horizons reveals that
they, too, must have been subjected either to leaching or to a

32
volume increase of considerable magnitude. Of these two alterna­
tives the former appears most probable.
A final deduction is of interest.

It concerns the develop­

ment of the laminated structure so characteristic of eluviated
materials in the Gray-Brown Podzolic soils, -and which is particu­
larly conspicuous in the St Clair solum.

Consider first a theo­

retical minimum volume weight that may be attained by soil mater­
ials. If all particles are spherical in shape, equal in size,
and loosely packed, their minimum volume weight value is 1.38#
with a corresponding porosity of 47.7$ Volume weights of the
horizons in question closely approximate this theoretical value.
This close agreement indicates that these eluviated materials are
approaching or have reached their minimum volume weights; if more
material is lost through decay and leaching, the layer must con­
sequently contract. Minimum values for these eluviated materials
were probably reached at an early stage of weathering so that con­
siderable contraction is thought to have already taken place as
will later be shown.

In response to gravitational forces, vertical

contraction has predominated over horizontal. This action has
shortened the inherited vertical interstices which were then fur­
ther obliterated by sloughing and filling. Horizontal joints and

*

M n m . wfliffht = Weight of unit diameter sphere, specific gravity 2.6S
s
Weight of unit cube with a specific gravity of 1.00

35

Table 2.

Mechanical analysis of the selected and reference
profiles, la per cent of oven-dry sample Heights.

Fine •Coarse. Fine .Coarse.
. Fine .Medium.Coarse Fine ■
clay
day
silt
silt
fine
sand
sand
sand gravel
sand

j

ST CLAIR

3d
31.1
19.7

&2

1B

C

9.0
8.3
10.4

13«4
10.8
11.5

39.8
23.8
26.2

16.5
10.1
8*4

7.1
8.2
11.4

3.1
3.3
5.6

1.0
2d
4*4

0.5
1.4
1.7

11.6
7.2
8.4

7.3
2.9
2.8

4.2
2.2
2d

2.2
2.4
2.0

24.5
2.9
6.3

7.3
6.1
4.2

5.1
0.5
2.1

4.3
0.0
1.1

8.7
4*4
4.2

3.9
3.9
4.0

2.5
2*4
2.3

1.5
2.5
1.1

5.1
5.3
6.6

2.9
3.0
3.7

1.0
1.9
2.1

0.9
1.1
1.3

6.3
7.7
10.7

1.9
1.1
5.9

1.3
1.9
2.8

1.1
0.7
0.5

41.8
19.3
28.9

31.8
35.1
34.0

7.3
9.3
8*4

3.3
6.2
6.1

CONOVER

^2 1.5
B 26.1
C
14*4

6.3
14*1
16.5

13.9
13.2
12.3

33.5
22.5
26.1

^2 0.0
B2 23.1
c: *11.2

8.3
9.1
15.8

10.2
18.3
17.5

13.0
5.9
30.3

^2 4.7
B 23.3
i c 12J.

13.2
9.8
13.1

22.2
31.4
34.7

31.1
15.9
22.4

17.7
8.9
13.6

NAPANEE

21.3
6.1
11.1

BROOKSTON

----

10.3
5.7
5.6

MTAMT

16.6
; b !33.3
; c 27.1

14.0
11.2
9.8

21.2
14.1
19.8

31.9
18.5
21.5

Ag 14a
B
44.5
i c 25.3
:
| it* 0.0
B ; 4.1
0.0
C

12.4
13.3
U.8

14.3
9.4
12.5

38.4
12.8
19.8

1.8
5.6
3.9

1.2
5.4
4.9

6.9
6.3
7.1

ISABELLA

'I
]

9.9
6.7
10.0

■

BELLEFONTAINE

Fine d a y
Coarse d a y
Fine silt
Coarse silt

6.6
7.7
5.4

4.7
7.0
8.0

0.001mm and less
Fine sand
0.001 to 0.OQ2mn
Medium sand
0.002 to 0.02mm
Coarse sand
0.01 to 0.05ma
Fine gravel
Very fine sand 0.05 to 0.10mm

0«10
0.25
0.50
1.00

to 0.25mm
to 0.50mm
to 1.00mm
to 2.00mm

!

34
cracks were not, however, as greatly affected and have tended to
persist within the mass.

These inherited characteristics are mod­

ified by the development of additional horizontally oriented inter­
stices caused by an imcomplete collapse of structural units*

The

resulting predominance of horizontal over vertical interstices is
thus a possible explanation of the laminated structure of highly
eluviated materials.

PARTICLE SIZE
DISTRIBUTIONS

In order to extract the very fine sand fractions
for mineralogieal studies, representative samples

were subjected to complete mechanical analyses with the results
shown in Table 2.

These data reveal that the profiles in question

developed in materials of strikingly similar particle size dis­
tributions. Although silt dominates the St Clair profile to &.<
lesser degree than the other three, all are either clay loams, or
very nearly clay loams, in texture.

Compared with the reference

profiles, St Clair appears to resemble Isabella rather than Miami
as far as their particle size attributes are concerned.
All profiles exhibit definite textural horizons.

Eluviated

zones (AJ are relatively low in fine separates, particularly fine
clay. At the other extreme are the so-called illuviated zones
which are all relatively high in fine clay. The parent materials
are intermediate in texture, a relationship that has been pointed
out by many previous investigators.

These and similar figures on

35
many other soils have appeared to justify the assumption that the
fine clays have been produced and dispersed as a result of soil
forming processes, and that they were then transported downward
to precipitate or flocculate in a zone of accumulation.

The re­

ference Beliefontaine profile is thought to reflect a fairly re­
presentative picture of the actual intensity of illuviation in
this region. Here no fine clays were found in the parent material.
The B horizon accumulation therefore indicates the magnitude of
net changes arising from clay formation and illuviation under
favorable conditions of pore size distribution and drainage.
A peculiarity of this kind of data, expressed in terms of
oven-dry sample weight percentages, is that it exaggerates tex­
tural differences between horizons because the value of one con­
stituent cannot decrease without a complementary increase in the
value of another.

This mode of expression has therefore done much

to foster fallacious conclusions. An example is readily apparent
in Table 2 where it may be noted, by comparing fine clay percentages,
that losses from Ag horizons are equalled, and in some profiles ex­
ceeded, by apparent “gains11 in B horizons (with respect to parent
materials).

Comparisons of this kind have, in the past, undoubt­

edly encouraged the acceptance of translocation as a major soil
formation factor and have tended to overemphasize the role it
plays in illuviation*

56
Jl more valid comparison of data of this nature is thought to
be obtained by expressing textural characteristics on a volume
basis*

Calculations can then be manipulated with respect to a

more constant reference so that a clearer picture emerges. A
summary of these mechanical analyses calculated to a volume basis
is presented in Table 5 which integrates the volume weight values
of Table 1 and the carbonate contents of the various horizons.
(See Table 6.) Here it is revealed that the chief effect of soil
forming processes has been the loss of carbonates from the upper
horizons.
Judging from the values listed in Column 4 of Table 5 soil
formation has brought about only relatively small changes in mass
per unit volume of materials other than carbonates. Assuming, for
example, that the St Clair Ag layer developed from an equal volume
of parent material similar to the present C horizon, the total
loss of minerals other than carbonates is about 15 grams.

Con­

currently the B horizon has lost some 4 grams of carbonate-free
materials, despite the fact that a considerable quantity of car­
bonates still remains. On the other extreme, the Brookston profile
exhibits a wgainu in the Ag horizon of materials other than car­
bonates.

This ^gain" probably resulted from changes in structure

other than mere degradation.

Compaction, for example, may have

resulted in an increase in density of the original surface layer.
Another explanation is the afore-mentioned vertical shrinkage ac-

37

Table 3* Particle size distributions of the selected profiles,
expressed in grans of carbonate-free separates per
lOOce of sample volume.

LHorizon. Volume
weight*
2
j
1
^2
B
C

0Carbonate-free material
X.CO3 . Total+. Clay . Silt . Sand
3

137
155
176

0*0
8.5
25.5

139
156
169

0.0
11.2
31.3

4

5

6

7

74.0
48.6
44.7

38.6
36.8
51.8

11.6
57.6
52.4

65.8
51.1
45.5

61.2
36.8
40.1

37.5
72.9
56.3

84.1
25.5
34.2

75.2
62.3
64.4

40.0
26.1
25.5

ST c u m
137
24.4
146
60.5
150
53.5
Gmomt

1

^2
B
C

139
145
138

B*
c

133
159
171

0.0
3.3
34.2

NAPANEE
31.0
133
156
58.2
137
46.5

A2
B
C

141
14-8
173

0.0
16.6
39*8

BROOKSTON
25.2
141
43.6
132
333
43.4

* Grams per lOOce calculated from the values in Table 1.
* These values mill be found not to agree with similar
values calculated from Table 2 because the particle size
distribution of the carbonates does not resemble that of
the sample as a whole.
* Difference between the columns to the left, and sum of

the columns to the right, in grams per lOOce.

58
companying, and resulting from, carbonate loss.
Conover and Napanee exhibit "gains*1 in their respective B
horizons. This is particularly true of the Napanee series which
is noted in the field for its dense compact "illuviated" zone.
These figures suggest that true illuviation may have been more
dominant in Napanee than in the other three profiles. There is
a possibility, however, that this enrichment was not transported
as clay but that fine material has formed in place, a theory that
will later be amplified.
Whether or not the foregoing deductions are well-founded
depend upon the validity of the basic premise which has already
been stated that unit volumes of parent material have produced
unit volumes of solum. Later evidence will indicate that this
premise is perhaps fallacious and that deductions based on an
assumption that volumes have remained unchanged are of little more
value than conclusions based on weight percentages.
Concerning changes in particle size classes within horizons,
a point of initial importance are the small quantities of sand
contained in the St Clair Ag layer.

It appears that sand grains

near the surface of this exposed soil have disintegrated as a
result of soil forming processes.

Disintegration of coarse

particles is also evident in the B horizon although to a lesser
extent than in the more exposed surface layers.

Complementing

59
sand particle disintegration is an increase in the quantity of silt
which is apparently an ultimate particle size in this material.

It

is logical to assume that the original silt may also have disinte­
grated to produce some clay even though the total amount in the
Ag horizon is less than in the parent material, due presumably to
weathering of the inherited clay particles.

Although the Ag hori­

zon shows a net difference of about 30 grams of clay per lOOcc
when compared with the C, the B horizon has only "gained11 7 grams
of clay.

This figure is- not insignificant but it is much smaller

than has commonly been supposed from a comparison of weight values.
This same relationship is shown in the clay content of the
different horizons in the Conover, Napanee, and Brookston profiles.
"Losses" of clay from the Ag horizons of the three relatively ex­
posed profiles are of about the same magnitude.

The "gain® ex­

hibited by the B over the C horizon in Napanee, however, is twice
that in the St Clair and Conover. On the opposite extreme, the
Brookston profile shows a relatively small but significant "loss"
of clay from the Ag horizon with no complementary gain in the B.
It is therefore concluded that the heavy texture of the Brook­
ston B horizon is due only to an apparent gain of fine materials
resulting from an actual loss of carbonates. This decrease in
bases may also be reflected in structural changes within the B
horizon which has retained its clay as compared to the Ag horizon
which is depleted in clay.

Dispersion is hence not physically

40
apparent in these surface layers, except as it may have contri­
buted to translocation of fine particles*
A contrast of some magnitude is discovered between the automorphic profile and those which have developed in lower drainage
positions when the quantities of coarse separates in their various
horizons are compared.

It is apparent that the St Clair solum

contains less sand per unit volume than does its parent material
whereas the solums of the other three contain more sand than their
respective parent materials.

These differences are certainly of

a significant magnitude and cannot be rationalized by "weathering"
hypotheses.

Some other explanation must be sought. The topo­

graphic position in which these poorly-drained profiles have de­
veloped, and the post-glacial history of the land surface on
which they are encountered, suggest a theory that may offer at
least a partial explanation for these observed textural contrasts.
The basis for this theory is found in the hypothesis of modern
glaciologists who have postulated that the parent material in which
the Napanee profile, for example, has developed was deposited under
water and that the till plain was a lake bottom for a considerable
period of time.

There is little evidence to show how deep these

lakes were for the major portion of their existance, but it is
within the realm of possibility that their basins were subjected
to wave-action during certain stages in the lake subsidence.
The thesis is advanced that this wave-action accomplished con-

41
siderable sorting of surface materials before they finally became
exposed to weathering forces, as the term is conventionally under­
stood,
Napanee is not the only series affected by this action.
Iosco, Berrien, Allendale, Arenac and several other related
series are examples of an extreme degree of wave sorting, which
removed nearly all clay from surface layers* Map 5 shows an
intricate association of Napanee and Brookston in a lake-laid
till. On this particular plain Napanee is confined to the higher
and drier parts where surfaces might logically be expected to
suffer a maximum amount of wave reworking. Brookston occurs in
depressions which presumably may have served as settling basins
during certain stages in the history of the land surface.
It is thought that wave-working may have accomplished two
things.

First of all, on relatively high surfaces now occupied

by Napanee, wave agitation was effective in removing a consid­
erable portion of the original silt and clay. These fine mater­
ials were removed laterally, however, which accounts for the
apparent increase in sand in the A^ horizon of this soil. Under­
lying materials, later to become the B horizon, remained unaffected
and unchanged.

A second result is thought to have been a sorting

of these concentrated surface sands according to their specific
gravities.

When the till plain was finally exposed to post­

glacial climates, the Napanee areas were hence already character­

42

ized by a textural profile. Moreover, in the lower depths of the
sandy surface horizon was a relative concentration of heavy minerals,
some of which later decomposed in place to produce the relatively
fine-textured B horizon that is characteristic of the present solum.
The high clay content in the B layer of Napanee does not, therefore,
necessarily represent a greater degree of translocation of fine
materials than has occurred in the St Clair series which supposedly
represents the most weathered and most mature profile in the region.
This theory applied to the genesis of such an anomolous profile as
Napanee appears to reconcile its topographic situation with the
extreme differences of texture exhibited within its solum.

The

theory possesses an added advantage in that it minimizes the role
of percolating water which moves very slowly in the small capil­
lary spaces of these heavy materials.
This thesis a,ppears equally valid when applied to Conover
and Brookston.

As may be seen from a study of the maps, Conover

occupies a topographic position somewhat intermediate between
St Clair and Napanee.

Like the latter, it occurs on a lake-bed

plain that might also have been subjected to wave action.

This

plain is not flat and level, however, but slopes regularly to
the east.

It is thought that, as the lake subsided, successive

areas were subjected to a maximum of wave activity. Because of
its sloping nature, the plain as a whole was not wave-washed in
its entirety for a long period of time as compared to the Napanee

43
areas* Thus, although there was a moderate sorting of materials
and some concentration of sand in the surface layers, the action
was not intensive* Moreover, as the Conover materials slowly
emerged, they were concurrently trenehed~and hence better drained
so that the final profile is more closely allied to St Clair
than to Napanee.
As applied to the Brookston areas, some sorting of materials
may be attributed to wave-action, but the evidence is not as
marked as in the higher parts of the plain.

More important was

the lateral movement of fine materials from adjacent elevations.
The admixture of these fine particles which settled in the de­
pressions modified the inherited texture so that differences in
the Brookston solum are not so conspicuous as in the higher areas.
The increase in density of the Brookston Ag horizon over the C
may be caused by this addition of fine ms.terialsj it is, therefore,
not degraded in the same sense as similar layers in the other
three profiles.
In summary, mechanical analyses of the St Clair, Napanee,
Conover, and Brookston profiles indicate they have developed
parent materials showing more similarities than dissimilarities.
Clay dominates their parent materials.

Disintegration has been

a major process within their solums, while decomposition and
physical sorting are evident in the low proportion of fine particles
in their surface layers.

Variations in parent materials and textural

differences within two other analogous profiles in the Gray-Brown
Podzolic region are indicated by the Miami and Isabella series.
Beliefontaine is presented as an example of an extreme textural
class of materials and to show the probable extent of clay for­
mation and illuviation in this climatic zone.
COLOR

St Clair, the automorphic profile developed in the
light brown drift which constitutes a major portion of

the elevated land forms, is very similar to the Miami series
from which it was early separated. One of the first taxonomic
questions to arise concerned the classification of this light
brown drift, which at first seemed sufficiently -different to
justify its separation from the darker brown and reddish-brown
drift found elsewhere in the Gray-Brown Podzolic area of the
Southern Peninsula* On the other hand, separation of these
drifts solely on the basis of color differences seemed of doubtful
value, particularly in view of the ephemeral nature of color attri
butes.

Field observations of the several drifts have shown, for

example, that conspicuous color differences seem to exist under
natural conditions; yet when samples are placed side by side
these contrasts, rather than intensifying as might logically be
expected, apparently disappear.

Differences between comparable

samples seem so slight as to preclude any justification for es­
tablishing separate catenas on the basis of color alone.

It there

45
fore appeared expedient to investigate this question by means of
such quantitative techniques as were at hand. A notable lack of
previous information of this character enhanced the desirability
of applying colorimetric standards to the comparison of existing
Michigan soil categories.

Hence* an attempt was initiated to de­

termine whether or not valid color differences exist, and, if so,
whether or not these differences can be expressed in mathematical
terms.
Exhaustive comparisons (employing the techniques described
in Appendix I) resulted in the accumulation of data presented in
Table 4, wherein each item is an average of eight separate measure'
ments obtained from duplicate determinations on four samples.
These data are presented to illustrate typical values obtained
by applying the Maxwell-Munsell system to soil colors developed
in a fairly restricted geographical area. The samples were se­
lected with the thought that such quantitative data would reveal
natural laws concerning the development of soil colors.

It was

also thought that evidence might be obtained to clarify the pre­
sent vague identity and status of the tentative St Clair and
Napanee series.
Inspection of the values listed in Table 4 shows that the
so-called Gray—Brown Podzolic colors, as well as the associated
grays and olive grays of the hydroperiodic and hydromorphie

6

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47
members of the catenas, are mixtures of red and yellow in varying
proportions, modified in strength and intensity by white and black.
In all colors yellow tends to dominate red, a dominance that ap­
proaches its maximum in the olive hues of the Napanee and Brookston
profiles.

The lightness or darkness of the color and its relative

strength is reflected in the total amount of black and white com­
ponents, and in their relationship to each other. Black appears
to dominate every comparison.
How moisture influences soil color is reflected in the differ­
ent values in the two vertical columns shown under each series in
Table 4.

In nearly every sample, moisture reduces the strength

of yellow and white components while it increases the amount of
black.

At the same time the red component remains relatively

constant.

Additions of water to dry materials, therefore, have

the effect of making soil colors darker and more brown.
Comparing different series leads to the conclusion that the
automorphic soils have developed in parent materials character­
ized by hue ingredients of about the same magnitude. In this
connection the C horizon of the tentative St Clair resembles com­
parable materials in the well-defined Miami, Isabella, and Bellefontaine series although color differences, possibly of a signifi­
cant magnitude, apparently exist; particularly notable in the St
Clair is the lower amount of black associated with intermediate
levels of the red and yellow hues.

These differences are greater

48
in dry samples than in moist samples; under the latter conditions
the hues of the four materials are essentially the same.
As was expected, perceptible color differences between hori­
zons are reflected by numerical differences in hue ingredients.
In Miami, for example, the relative quantities of yellow as com­
pared to red decrease in the upper horizons, the smallest quanti­
ties being found in the Ap layers.

Thus red is more dominant in

both eluviated and illuviated horizons.

The eluviated layer,

however, also shows a complementary increase in white which is
usually interpreted by an observer as a lighter and grayer color.
Soils developed in low drainage levels are characterized by
colors containing smaller absolute quantities of hue ingredients.
There is, of course, a complementary rise in quantities of black
and white components so that profiles not only appear darker but
also more neutral.

Some observers can detect relatively large

amounts of yellow in these soils which are sometimes described by
such adjectives as ‘'olive11.
As in other research fields, the difficulty of comparing and
interpreting raw values, such as are listed in Table 4, suggests
a necessity for devising mathematical relationships that will
enable an investigator to segregate and evaluate the three color
attributes of hue, brilliance, and chroma. Fortunately, mathe­
matical expressions have already been developed in allied fields (53)

49

and it only remains to borrow and adapt them to the purpose at
hand.
In applying Mansell*s analysis there are several precautions
that must be taken.

First, a single set of disks must be used

throughout the study because color standards deteriorate.

For

this reason it is difficult and probably misleading to compare
the work of various investigators.

Second, the details of viewing,

lighting, and matching must be held constant.

And third, the

standard hues must not be more than l/lO of the hue circle apart.
Because the technique of this study did not violate these pre­
cautions it is presumed that the color formulas can be validly
applied.
According to Nickerson (53), the hue resultant (H) is the
proportion of one hue to the total. Instead, however, of using
only the area proportions, brilliance and chroma are also con­
sidered to give what might be called the color "power", according
to the following formula:
H -

Z

—

AyPy

(Z — x)

Vx -V*
in which

and

x
z
A
P
H

is the number of the first hue (red, 5)
is the number of the second hue (yellow, 25)
is the respective area in percentage
is the power number (brilliance x chroma)
is the hue resultant

In this study, the general formula was simplified by insert­
ing the appropiate values to give the following equation:

Substituting appropriate area values for the dry parent mat­
erial for the Miami series produces

H = 25 -

17(36) + 30(64)

= 25 - 4.8 - 20.2

The brilliance of any match is the area of each color multi­
plied by the square of its respective brilliance*

The square is

used because reflection under certain illumination bears a relat­
ion to brilliance according to the "square law".

For example,

half black and half white do not produce a gray that is half way
between white and black; instead, the color looks to be nearer
three-quarters of the way towards white.

One-quarter white and

3/4 black appears very close to middle gray, or about 5/ in brill­
iance.

The formula is

b »
v

A i 5!2 + A2B22 + A3B32 + * r r
100

where B is brilliance and A is the area in per cent of each ingre­
dient.

Simplified for this study the formula becomes

51
Substituting appropriate values for the dry parent material
of the Miami series gives

B-

A 16X
V

VJ) * ( U X 30) * (1 x 401 ♦ (81 * 13) „ , 72
100
•*

Chroma (C) is the proportion of the chromas used to the total
area.

The formula is
C a

AjGl + A202 + &3C3 +

100
'which, when simplified, becomes
C - _9Ar ♦ Sky
100
For dry parent material of the Miami series
ft - f l L & m + J g . * .32). „ 3.93

100

In grading various agricultural products these three attributes
have sometimes been integrated by means of the following formula
Color notation s H s 1
C
which, for the selected sample becomes
N s

20.2 x 5.72 _ 2*67
3.93

This method of analysis was applied to the data already dis­
cussed, and the values plotted in Figure 1 were obtained.

—

Aia
UOT^EpiGp pjEpus^EJ|_lueafi
■ ■

in

r

y
i
saeasAY-H-

§
^

H ■

ft
■

-m-

|
" l
■

■ ■ *

A
*

w «

the

legend

3 9

data.

§

§
i
N 4>

lower

color
of

IBI

right.

Note

§ *

at the

1

Analysis

I .

1 .

—

Figure

g
o
H
H
B
s

55
Bearing in mind that the standard hues employed in this study
were arbitrarily designated a value of 5 and 25 for red and yellow,
respectively, a point of initial interest is the narrow hue range
encompassed by the soils studied. The reddest hue was exhibited
by the Beliefontaine illuviated zone with a value of 14*2. Most
yellow was the Napanee illuviated zone represented by a value of
22*6*

The over-all variation in hue encountered in these ex­

treme profiles is represented by a numerical range of 8 out of
a total possible difference of 20 units.
A second point of interest is the small standard deviations
derived from the eight measurements that comprise each value.
It is thus possible to conclude that by careful sampling, stan­
dard deviations may be reduced to the extent that significant
color differences can be expressed by the Maxweli-Munsell tech­
nique.

Concerning the data at hand, differences in hue appear

to be more significant than differences of brilliance or chroma*
Of the three attributes, chroma differences appear to be least
significant.
When the three attributes are integrated in the form of a
color notation, as indicated on the right of Figure 1, a simi­
larity is noted in the parent material colors of the automorphic
Miami, Isabella, and St Clair profiles. The hydromorphie Brookston profile shows the greatest departure from a mean while
Napanee occupies an intermediate position. Considering only

54
automorphic profiles, there appears to be as much variation be­
tween horizons as there is between different series* Greatest
variations appear to have resulted from weathering of the JL, hori—
zons of soils in low drainage positions* These large differences
are due not only to hue differences but to brilliance and, in the
Brookston, to chroma as well*
There is less variation in the color of different parent
materials than there is between parent materials and their re­
spective solums* Confirming field observations, Isabella is the
most red in hue, and Miami is the most yellow*

St Clair is inter­

mediate* There appears to be no relationship between hue and
drainage position.

Likewise there is little relation between

drainage position and the brilliance exhibited by parent material
colors* Chroma, on the contrary, appears to be influenced by
drainage, indicated by the extremely neutral values for Brookston.
As parent material changes in response to soil forming pro­
cesses color differences develop within the profile, especially
in the higher and drier soils* Here colors show a tendency to
become a trifle more red in hue and possibly a little stronger
but, at the same time, a little more gray in brilliance* In lower
drainage positions, colors in eluviated zones are definitely more
yellow in hue and lighter in brilliance* The Brookston Ag horizon
is distinguished by its exceedingly neutral chroma*

55
Xu illuviated zones, chroma and brilliance are of about the
same magnitude for all automorphic soils* Hue* however* exhibits
a definite departure towards red. It is of interest that the brown
layer and incrustations found on joint crack surfaces and completely
covering some structural units in the B horizons of Miami* Isabella*
and St Clair is essentially the same color in all of these soils*
This similarity suggests that the fine products resulting from
soil forming processes are similar in these three profiles*
Although these color comparisons are of doubtful value in
explaining the genesis of the profiles in question* they are of
some benefit in clarifying the inter-relationships of the various
series*

Conover* Brookston* and Napanee, for example* exhibit

the greatest variations as indicated by relatively large standard
deviations. From the standpoint of field interpretation, these
three soils are considered, to embrace a greater range of variation
than do the automorphic profiles. In other words* the automorphic
soils are more precisely defined and more precisely delineated.
Considering only Miami* St Clair* and Isabella it will be noted
that their standard deviations are of about the same magnitude,
indicating that they are fairly consistently separated in the
field. However, the intermediate position of St Clair with
respect to Miami and Isabella and the considerable overlapping of
the wet and dry colors makes the separation of the former of doubtful
utility* at least as far as color is concerned.

56
CHEMICAL COMPARISONS
Even more difficult to perceive than color, because the re­
lationships are not immediately visible, are the choralca! charac­
teristics of soils and soil materials*

Early investigators tended

to over-emphasize total chemical analyses, especially in expressing
comparisons in terms of weight percentages with little or no regard
to complementary physical attributes of the materials being studied*
In many instances this practice resulted in misinterpretating data
and formulating fallacious conclusions* Broad use of the word
illuviation in describing the Gray-Brown Podzolic Forest soils is
perhaps evidence of a popular misconception of soil genesis under
this particular climate, a misconception that has been fostered
by difficulties of analyzing data of this nature*
TOTAL CHEMICAL ANALYSES

Despite the present unpopularity of
total chemical analyses, such studies

are valuable in determining the uniformity, or lack of uniformity,
exhibited by parent materials and profiles developed in these
materials* The following data are of especial interest because
of a notable lack of previous information concerning heavy till
materials in Michigan.

Techniques and methods involved in these

measurements are presented in Appendix II*
Table 5 presents detailed analyses in terms of the most im­
portant and bulky constituents of the several series under dis-

57

Table 5.

Total chemical analysis of the selected
reference
profiles, expressed as per cent of oren-dxy organic-free
sample Heights. Vaises are averages of duplicate determinations•
.Horizon
*2
B
G

*2
B
G

a2
B
C

a2
B
C

SiOg . 1^2^ • A12p3 • Ca® . IfgO . IL* . CQfc
82.5
82.1
74a
73.4
67.4
68.9

4.2
4.0
4.6
4.8
5.1
4*6

ST CLAIR
6.6
0.7
6.7
1.3
5.8
7.4
6.4
4.5
6.1
10.5
6.6
7.4

0.4
0.5
3.5
4.0
2.0
2.2

2.1
3a
3.1
4.2
7.6
7.9

0.3
2.5
2.8
6.9
7.1

79.3
78.4
72.9
71.2
65.7
67.6

4.0
3.4
6.3
5.9
5.1
5.0

COHOVER
6.2
0.2
6.8
0.1
2.0
7.3
6.7
3.5
6.3
8.5
6.0
6a

1.2
1.2
3.3
3.2
3.8
3.9

4*6
5.1
4.9
5.1
9.3
9.1

3.7
3a
8.8
8.5

82.1
83.5
72.3
69.2
63.9
64.6

2.5
3.7
6.2
6.7
3.9
4.0

NAPANEE
7.5
1.4
7.3
0.9
1.5
11.5
11.8
1.8
6.8
7a
7.3
6.7

0.7
0.9
1.8
2.7
4.4
3.4

2.7
1.7
1.9
2.1
U.3
10.2

4*4
4.1
4.3
4a
4.7
3.5

BROOKSTON
8.6
1.1
0.9
8.9
10.2
2.8
2.8
11.4
8.8
9.2
10.3
7.9

2.8
3.9
4.1
4.5
5.5
4a

1.2
2.4
7.5
7.9
11.9
11.6

78.4
77.4
66.4
67.5
57.7
59.9

* Ignition loss

—

-

—

0.6
0.9
9.8
9.0
—

5.2
5.4
11.7
10.5

58

Table 5. (continued)
Horizon. SLQz . Fesp3 • AlgOj • CaO • HgO . 1L** . C02
*2
B
C

^2
B
C

c*

*2
B
C

UTAWT
0.7
0.9
0.8
2.8
3.6
1.2
7.9
6.1
7.9

0.5
0.6
0.4
2.5
2.1
0.9
3.9
3.2
4.5

0.4
0.9
2.5
3.6
3.4
5.5
10.8
9.1
13.7
1.6

—
0.8

81*3
80.1
*84.1
69.7
69.3
*63.7
60.3
62.5
*51.2

4.9
4.7
2.0
7.2
6.3
6.0
5.1
5.2
4.8

10.0
9.3
7.7
9.1
12.4
16.5
9.8
11.2
13.3

87.0
*88.2
85.2
*72.3
62.7
*54.2

2.8
1.6
5.5
4.2
4.2
4.7

ISABELLA
4.6
0.6
5.2
0.7
5.2
0.7
1.6
11.3
4*4
8.9
5.0
13.1

0.3
0.5
0.4
1.7
4.8
5.7

3.5
15.7

—
0.9
—
1.3
12.2
14*8

61.1
65.4

4.7
4.5

OHTGHAGON
7.6
5.1
9.1
4*1

5.8
4.6

13.2
U.6

12.3
12.0

62.4
63.4

5.3
5.1

SELKIRK
6.2
5.9
6.6
5.5

6.4
5.6

11.5
11.3

10.7
10.3

3.2
9.2
3.1

BELLBFONTAINE
0.1
5.6
0.7
4.9
8.0
4.3

0.5
3.2
1.0

0.3
0.7
5.3

1.1

87.3
79.2
77.3

_

2.3
2.0
0.0
10.3
8.1
10.6

4*4

* Sample collected by J. 0. Veatch and analyzed by 0. B. Winter
of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.
+ SangxLe collected by James fyson and analyzed by D. 6. Sherman.
• fifttnpia coUested by Gash Wonser.

** Ignition loss.

59

TatAo 6* Sunazy of the chemical analyses of the
selected profiles, expressed aa per cent
of the cven-dxy, organie free sample weights.
Horizon • X-CC^ .
*2
B
C
^2
B
C
h.

B
C

^2
B
C

cussion.

SLQg

. Fe2C>3 . AI2O3

5.5
18.5

ST CLAIR
82.3
73.7
68.3

4*1
4.7
4.9

7.2
18.5

CONOVER
78.9
72.0
66.7

3.7
6.1
5.1

2.1
20.0

NAPANEE
82.8
70.8
64.2

3.1
6.5
3.9

7.4
31.7
7.0

11*2
23.0

BROOKSTON
78.1
66.9
58.9

4.2
4.2
4.1

8.8
10.9
9.8

6.6
6.9

S

8#9 I
6*5 1
7.0 i
6#7 1

All values are oven-dry, organic free weight percentages,

a manner of expression that is considered of value primarily in
comparing these figures with already published data, which have
nearly all been organized in a similar form. Inspection of these
figures illustrates that the soil materials are remarkably similar
in ohftnHpal constitution despite variations in color and texture.
The most variable component with respect to the profile as a whole
appears to be carbonates* although silica also shows considerable
variation.

Extremes of composition resulting from texture may be

60

Table 7*

Chemical analyses of the selected profiles summarized.
as grains per lOOcc of the organic-free sample* Each
item is an average of four measurements obtained from duplicate
determinations on duplicate samples. Note ratios at the right*

.Horizon. Total* . I'GO^ • SiOg * Fe203 • A1293
weight

Ratios Si02 ^ AI2O3
FegOj Fe203

137
155
176

ST CLAIR
112.9
8.5
114*2
25*5
120.1

5.6
7.3
8.6

9.0
10.7
15.7

20.1
15.6
14.1

1.61
1.46
1.83

A2
B
C

139
156
169

CONOVER
109.5
11.2
112.5
31.3
114.2

5.2
9.5
8.6

9.1
10.9
11.4

21.1
11.2
13.3

1.75
1.15
1.33

Ao
B
C

133
159
171

NAPANEE
- * 111.1
3.3
113.6
34.2
108.6

4.1
10.3
6.7

9*8
18.6
12.0

22.3
15.6
16.4

2.23
2.08
1.79

*2

141
148
173

BROOKSTON
110.3
16.6
99.2
39.8
101.5

5.9
6.2
7.1

12.8
16.2
16.9

18.7
16.0
14.3

2.17
2.65 |
2.38

*2
B
C

C

* From Table 1*
noted by comparing the Bellefontaine and Napanee profiles.

Extremes

of color are exhibited by the Napanee, Brookston, and Isabella pro­
files. Another point of interest is the apparently high Fe and Al
content in the B horizons of all but the St Clair profile.
In order to simplify this information, values of duplicate
samples have been averaged and summarized in Table 6 which more
readily shows the above relationships* Here it is seen that the

61
principal difference exhibited by the horizons of the selected pro­
files is in their carbonate content* Compared with differences in
carbonate levels other chemical differences are comparatively small*
This table also shows a nice, but probably incidental, relationship
between topographic position and the carbonate content of parent
materials.
A

summary of greater value is presented in Table 7, wherein

the chemical analyses have been weighted according to the apparent
specific gravities of their respective horizons, a comparison of
more significance than conventional weight percentages when con­
sidering the genesis of a particular profile. It is here even more
apparent that loss of bases from the solum has been a major effect
of soil forming processes.

Differences between the various parent

materials are seen to be not as great as they appeared when ex­
pressed as weight percentages.
A notable point made clear by Table 7 is that the St Clair pro­
file exhibits no true zone of accumulation over and above its parent
material inheritance. With respect to the C horizon, the B horizon
also displays leaching, although not to the extent shown by the
layer.

The relatively heavy texture of the B horizon must result,

then, from an apparent increase in clay complementing a loss of
carbonates.

Changes in structure may accompany the decrease in

poly-valent cations within the B horizon.

Consequent dispersion

62
of the clays may in turn contribute to the "heavy® field character*-*
istics that distinguish this so-called illuviated zone* Table 5
has already demonstrated a concurrent change in the size of al l
particles which undergo considerable reduction, so that the quantity
of fine clay in the B horizon is increased* It would seem that the
evidence so far indicates the bulk of this fine clay is formed in
place rather than infiltrated downward from the overlying JL, layer*
The Napanee and Conover profiles exhibit a slightly, and
possibly significantly, greater amount of iron in their "illuviated*
zones than in their respective C horizons. This is especially true
of Napanee which also displays a greater quantity of alumina in
its B horizon* Another characteristic of some interest is the
high amount of silica in the Ag horizon of this soil, in con­
trast to St Clair and Conover which are characterized by signifi­
cantly less SiOg in their surface layers. In this regard the Brook—
ston profile is also of interest since it, too, shows significantly
higher amounts of silica in its Ag. These differences are summarized
in Table 8*
Here it is seen that horizon development in the various soils
appears to bear some relationship to the topographic position in
which the respective profiles have developed.

Thus the older and

more exposed till, represented by St Clair, is marked by great
losses or by the effects of more vigorous and intensive leaching*

65

Table 8* Chemical differences between the
horizons of the selected profiles,
expressed in grams per lOOce of volume.
^2°3

|

A -C
B - -C

ST CLAIR
-7.2
-3.0
-5.9
-1.3

-6.7
-5.0

I
f
j

A -C
B*G

CONOVER
-4.7
-3.4
-1.9
+0.9

-2.3
-0.5

A -C
B-G

NAPANEE
+1.2
-2.6
♦3.8
+3.6

-2.2
+6.6

A-C
B-C

BROOKSTON
+8.8
-1.2
-2.3
-0.9

-4.1
-0.7

Horizon .

SiOg

.

FegOj

•

1
[

|
!

NOTE: A + sign indicates that the horizon
contains more than the "parent material".
She - sign means the horizon contains less.
It is also seen that Napanee, Conover, and Brookston, represent­
ing lower positions in the same drainage catena, are character­
ized by losses of a much smaller magnitude* Napanee is unique
in that its B horizon is characterized by larger quantities of
SiOg, FegOg, and AlgOg than is its C horizon. The decreasing
magnitude of these horizon differences, particularly differences
in iron

aluminum, primarily offers some foundation for con­

cluding that profiles are formed as a result of leaching. The

64
high amounts of silica in the A^ horizons of Napanee

Brookston

cannot, however, be explained on the basis of leaching, A better
explanation is found in the thesis offered in an earlier section
which is not refuted by this new evidence but is rather strengthened*
The concept has been advanced that the surface layers of Napa­
nee were depleted in clay by the sorting action of wave-induced
turbulations in the shallow waters once covering the area. It

1ms also been suggested that the sandy residues may have been
gr&vimetrically separated so that heavy clay-forming minerals were
concentrated in an enriched zone at some depth below the surface
of the lake bottom sediments. This gravimetric sorting would
simultaneously result in a chemical separation of the coarse sedi­
ments.

Silica and certain potash-soda feldspars of a low specific

gravity would remain on the surface while horneblende and the
plagiocl&se feldspars would sift downward, contributing to an en­
richment of a zone below the surface.

Subsequent weathering

could be expected to produce relatively small quantities of clay
in the upper silieious layers while the enriched zone would pro­
duce relatively large quantities. This concept thus accounts for
both the high quartz content of the Napanee surface, and the re­
latively heavy texture of its B horizon. A profile so formed
would present striking texture contrasts and yet represent a minimum
of clay translocation (that is, illuviation) within the profile.

65

Table 9* Analysis of meteoric waters from eastern
Michigan (49), in parts per million.
"1.....
I
\

1
|

!
M

Location
Armada
Almont
Bad Axe
Brown City
Harbor Beach
Imlay City
Marietta
Memphis
Port Austin
Sandusky
Ubly
-- - T 1

. Source .

SLO2

Well
Well
Well
Well
Taira
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well
Well

16.4
16.8
11.2
11.2
10.0
12.0
3.8
19*2
7.6
8.0
20.8

.

w

Fe^
nd
2.4
1.0
nd
0.0
1.8
nd
0.7
0.4
nd
tr

nd
4*0
2.2
nd
tr
3*8
nd
3.2
1.1
tr
tr

NOTE: “nd” indicates no determination; Rtrn means trace.
Brookston materials represent depression sediments associated
with wave-washed Napanee materials. Pursuing the proposed thesis
to its logical conclusion it is necessary to suppose the surface
layers of Brookston were somewhat enriched by clays separated
and laterally transported from the higher surrounding areas.
This action is thought to be reflected in the relatively high
iron and aluminum content of the Brookston solum. Brookston sur­
face horizons exhibit a relatively high silica content, which is
also explained on the basis of wave-action and consequent physical
sorting of surface materials.
The relative large losses of silica are of interest in con­
sidering the chemical weathering that has been accomplished in

66
tills particular climate* it study of meteoric waters throws addi­
tional light on this subject (see Table 9) since it shows that
their silica content is much higher than either their iron or
alumina. Moreover, Tables 8 and 9 reveal that subsurface drainage
waters carry alumina -and iron in about the same ratio as they are
leached from soil* The silica—sesquioxide ratio of losses from
surface horizons is, however, smaller than a similar ratio for
meteoric waters, the former being somewhat less than unity while
the latter is in every sample greater than unity* A possible,
though perhaps hasty, conclusion is that iron and alumina must
be deposited somewhere within the sub-strata, somewhere other
than in the so-called illuviated zone of the solum* Additional
evidence will later assist in clarifying this point*
To summarize, the results of chemical analyses appear to
support the conclusion deduced from studying particle size distri­
butions:

that soil forming processes have resulted chiefly in re—

moving carbonates from the solum* Silica, iron -and alumina have
also been lost and these losses are generally apparent not only
in the leached zone but also in the so-called accumulation zone*
An exception to this generality is encountered in the anomalous
Napanee profile} it is argued, however, that these exceptional
gains originated before the profile was exposed to soil forming
forces

therefore do not invalidate the concept that disinte—

67
gration, decomposition, and leaching have dominated the genesis of
the St Clair-Napanee-Conover-Brookston catena*

MINERALOGXCAL
ANALYSIS

It has already been shown that certain advantages
are derived from expressing analytical values in

terns of volume rather than weight* An application of this prin­
ciple has revealed information concerning the relative importance
of certain soil forming processes in the evolution of a Gray-Brown
Podzolic profile* Some idea has also been gained concerning the
morphology of several selected profiles and their categorization
in the pedologic taxonomy of a rather limited geographical area*
Thus far, however, the argument is perhaps as misleading as
earlier accounts of genesis and morphology; the fallacy here is
in the assumption that present volumes are satisfactory reference
criteria, despite the fact that there has already been an occasion
to note that the present A^ horizon probably is much thinner than
the parent material from which it evolved* An independent re­
ference by which to judge volume ehanges is, therefore, an obvious
requirement*
Early pedologists seized the various petrographic techniques
as they have been perfected by sedimentary geologists and have
used them to describe soils and soil materials. This early work,
however, consisted of little more than cataloging the various

68
mineral species encountered. Not until the past decade has there
been any serious attempt to correlate petrographic data with soil
genesis.

These efforts have been pioneered by Jeffries and Mar­

shall and it is the latter who has suggested that resistant min­
eral species may afford the necessary and vital reference for
indicating changes involved in profile genesis.

It has already

been seen that weight and volume references have not supplied &
satisfactory index of the various losses and possible gains which
have evolved the profiles described herein. This section is an
attempt to rationalize certain petrographic data with respect to
the theory already set forth, and to discover what new light this
approach may shed on the older concept of illuviation as a major
soil forming force.
In Table 10 are summarized the findings of a petrographic
investigation into the nature of the very fine sand fractions of
the selected profiles.

The value of these data is considerably

enhanced by a notable scarcity of such information concerning
Mtplrigam surface materials.

Despite the fact that underlying

rocks have been rather thoroughly studied as a consequence of in­
terest in subsurface mineral resources, surface materials have
been largely ignored by both the geologist and pedologist. Con­
sequently, no other comparable data, dealing with heavy calcareous
tills in Michigan, can be found.
It is of interest, however, to note the similarity of the

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Petrology of the very fine sands, expressed as the per cent of particles counted

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Table 10*

69

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70
mineral assemblages herein reported to those encountered by Kruger
(54) in the late Wisconsin till of Minnesota, by White (75) in the
Wisconsin drift of northern Ohio, and by Mickelson (51) in the
Wisconsin drift of central Ohio*

Quartz, calcite, feldspars,

hornblende appear to dominate most of the till assemblages re­
ported by the above authors. In eastern Michigan drift these four
minerals constitute 50-51J&, 9-16^, 1£-2C$, and about

respec­

tively, of the very fine sand fractions. The remainder of the
fraction is dominated by rather amorphous appearing aggregates
seemingly limonitic in character.
The heavy fraction of the very fine sand, which is present
in rather uniform quantities, is dominated by hornblende, a re­
lationship that appears to be widespread according to the above
authors.

Johnsgard (52) and Matelski (48) found that hornblende

dominated the heavy mineral fractions of all Michigan sandy pro­
files examined. Besides hornblende, other important heavy minerals
are garnet, epidote, augite, and several opaque minerals of which
magnetite is the most abundant.

In nearly all samples certain

accessory species were also noted, the most numerous being titanite,
rutile, ilmenite, leucoxene, biotite, pyrite, monazite, kyanite and
chlorite. These accessory minerals are present in such small quan­
tities, however, that no attempt was made to secure quantitative
measurements since the major morphological differences are found
in the dominant species.

71
Considering the profiles listed in Table 10, a marked simi­
larity is found in the quantities of the various minerals present
in very fine sand of the several soils. Here, as in total
analyses, major differences seem to arise from the varying amounts
of calcite present in parent materials, and in the apparent in­
creases in resistant minerals in the surface layers resulting
from losses of calcite as a consequence of weathering. It should
be borne in mind that all values listed in Table 10 are count per­
centages and that they are, therefore, representative of volume
changes rather than weight changes.
Since these data, as well as chemical analyses, indicate
that horizon dissimilarities are chiefly caused by differences in
carbonates, a more ready comparison of the profiles is obtained
by recalculating all values to a ©alcite-free basis.

Such a com­

parison is shown in the upper part of Table 11, Here it is seen
that the quartz content in the very fine sand fraction is rela­
tively resistant, being present in greater quantities in surface
layers than in the respective B or C horizons. This difference
is in part only apparent, because there has been some weathering
of the feldspar minerals in the JL and B horizons. On the other
hand, total chemical analyses have already indicated that there
has been considerable loss of silica from the surface layers, per­
haps more than was realized through the decomposition of minerals
other than quartz. Although very fine quartz could not be ex—

72
pected to contribute measurable quantities to these losses, never­
theless the tendency is towards decreasing, rather than increasing,
quantities of silica in the A

2

horizon.

In view of insignificant losses of materials other than cal­
cite from the surface layers, it appears that the great differences
in the quartz content of A

and B horizons of the Conover, Napanee,
Z
and Brookston profiles can be accounted for only by advancing an
hypothesis of a non-conformity developed as a result offpurely
physical soil forming processes. Additional evidence in favor of
this theory is seen in the total quantities of heavy minerals in
the very fine sand fractions of the various horizons of the se­
lected profiles (see Table 10)5 the St Clair profile displays a
slightly greater quantity of heavy minerals in its B horizon,
whereas the other profiles, and especially the Napanee, show
differences of a much higher order. In fact, the large quantity
of heavy minerals found in the B horizon of the Napanee (as com­
pared with the A_ and C horizons of the same profile) cannot be
Z
reconciled to the probable intensity of weathering that has pre­
vailed in materials situated in this particular drainage position.
Marshall (46) has recently advanced a petrographic theory
for use in studies of soil genesis, a theory based on an assump­
tion that certain resistant minerals remain relatively unaffected
during profile development. Two or more resistant minerals found

75
in the various separates are used as indicators of depositional
or geological differences in parent materials.

If the material

was uniform when weathering started, the ratio between any two of
these mineral species should be constant throughout the profile.
Pronounced variations in this ratio indicate depositional differ­
ences within the original parent material (51).
Zircon and tourmaline are generally accepted as suitable
species for a valid application of this test. This selection is
unfortunately of limited value in studying the data at hand be­
cause of the small number of particles counted in each sample,
and because of the few zircon and tourmaline particles found
therein.

Moreover, only one size fraction was studied, which

presents a serious obstacle in the logical interpretation of
mineralogical data, as Matelski (48) has recently shown. Not­
withstanding these objections, however, an application of Mar­
shall^ theory is considered justified, providing its limitations
are fully understood.

In Table 11 certain ratios are therefore

presented which are of interest in view of the findings of other
investigators.
A useful point of departure in the problem at hand is found
in the recent works of Cady (9) and Chandler (12) dealing with
the resistance to podzol weathering of the more important soil
minerals.

Their studies show that among the most resistant min­

erals are magnetite, quartz, garnet, and zircon. Moderately re—

74

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75
sistant minerals are ipidote, orthoclase, and diopside. Easily
weathered minerals are hypersthene, hornblende, plagioclase, and
olivine.
If these conclusions are accepted, then the ratios listed in
Table 11 indicate that of the four profiles, only the St Clair
has developed in materials that were uniform when first exposed
to chemical weathering forces*

The corresponding ratios for the

various horizons of the Napanee, Conover, and Brookston profiles
vary so greatly that, despite the inherently great experimental
error in these determinations, their significance cannot be ques­
tioned,

Evidence as to the mechanical separation of the light

and the heavy minerals (by wave-washing) is seen in the quartz/
zircon ratio which is excessively high for the A

1C

horizon and low

for the B horizon, particularly in the anomalous Napanee,
These petrographic data therefore confirm conclusions earlier
deduced from studies of particle sizes and chemical analyses. It
is thus possible to state with some degree of assurance that the
St Clair profile represents a zonal automorphic soil developed in
rather uniform parent materials. By the same token, further specu­
lation concerning the relative importance of eluviation and illu—
viation in the genesis of the Napanee, Conover, and Brookston pro­
files is known to be fruitless since these studies thus far have
revealed no method of reconstructing their original parent material
profiles.

76
CALCITE-CARBGNATE
PROFILES*

Soil classifications like the example out—
lined, in Appendix III axe usually founded

upon such physical and chemical features as c*»n be visually dis­
tinguished by the field worker*

In mainng the survey of the soils

shown in Map 3, preparatory to securing samples for laboratory
comparisons, it soon became apparent that perhaps a major chemical
difference of the four selected series was in their carbonate pro­
files* Accordingly, a field study of this feature was instituted
with the results that are shown in Table 12*
Obvious deductions from these data are that calcite-carbonates
are encountered at greater depths in the Napanee and Brookston
series than in the higher and supposedly more weathered St Clair
and Conover profiles* Field observations indicate that these
differences are not reflected in either the A^ or B horizons, the
common depths and thicknesses of which are indicated in the table*
In the St Clair and Conover series, free calcite-carbonates are
commonly found just below the zone of maximum color intensity in
the B horizon*

This relationship was not observed in the other

two profiles, although a great difficulty with these latter soils
was in identifying the B horizon*

*

Observations along freshly dug

So called because cold 1:1 HC1 was employed in the field, which
produces effervescence with calcitic rather than dolomitic car­
bonates*

77

Table 12» Calcite-carbonate profiles of the selected series,
indicated by the number and per cent of borings
in 'which treatment with cold HG1 produced effervescence•
bb

0
1
o

Depth
(inches)
10-14
14 — IB
18-22
i 22-26
| 26 - 30
30-34
34-38
| 38-42
Over 42
Total

ST CLAIR
n
—

7
33
72
102
61
23
12
8
5
323

%

—
2.2
* 12*4
*34.7
* 66*2
85.1
92.2
95.9
98.5
100.0

CONOVER
N
% _
m.
—
14 * 4*9
45 - 20.9
64 I 43.2
71 68.1
43 83.2
22 90.9
12 95.1
8 97.9
6 100.0
285

NAPANEE
H
%
—
1
2
7
13
19
20
43
28
134

—

„ 0.7
* 2.2
: 7.4
* 17.1
31.3
46.2
78.3
99.2

BROOESTQN
N
%
m.

—

—

—

■Jr 0.5
2 * 1.3 •
4.5 !
5
8.0
7
21
18.6
32
41.0
100.0
;
119
198

NOTE: "N" is the number of borings in which free effervescence
■was for the first time encountered at the indicated
depth. n%* is the accumulative per cent of borings in which
was encountered at the indicated, or shallower, depth free effer­
vescence. Hie asterisk (*) shows the average depth and develop­
ment of the B horizon.
drainage ditches, however, confirmed evidence obtained from borings
to the effect that a zone of free effervescence lies somewhat below
the zone of finest texture in the Napanee and Brookston series.
These differences in the calcite-carbonate profiles are
thought to be great enough to justify a field separation of Napanee from Conover and St Clair. It is possible, moreover, that the
characteristics of this calcite-carbonate profile are related to
other more subtle features not susceptible to measurement by the
techniques employed in this study, but which are nevertheless in—

78
dicative of the unique appearance of the Napanee profile and its
position in the taxonomy of the area in question.
Possible explanations of these differences in the carbonate
profiles of the selected series are found in their profile drain­
age characteristics. Napanee and Brookston developed in positions
that are analogous to those described by Sherman and Thiel (62)
as being susceptible to dolomitization.

It is possible that the

carbonate content of these two soils has not suffered great de­
pletion below the B horizon, but has merely been changed to a
more dolomitic form which does not effervesce when treated with
cold HC1.

This explanation is strengthened by the data in the

section dealing with the chemical composition of these soils,
where it may be noted that even the B horizons contain some car­
bonates, and that magnesium is present in larger quantities than
calcium.
Another explanation of at least a contributing factor is
found in the relative susceptibility of the four soils to geo­
logic erosion.

Thus the carbonate-free mantle which has devel­

oped on the more exposed and higher areas is continually decreas­
ing in thickness due to a loss of materials from the surface. The
low-lying soils, however, are not subjected to erosive forces and
so, in .
all probability, do not lose material from the surface; on
the contrary, they might be expected to gain material as a result
of their low position. Hence the carbonate solum in St Clair and

79
Conover has a tendency to decrease in thickness while that of Napa­
nee and Brookston increases as a result of these same forces*

PEDOLOGIC INTERPRETATIONS
The foregoing pages have presented the results of several
lines of inquiry into the nature and genesis of the St Clair,
Napanee, Conover, and Brookston series* The relationship be­
tween these four profiles and other important Gray-Brown Podzolic
soils has also been pointed out. With the evidence now at hand,
it becomes possible to integrate these converging approaches with
a greater degree of assurance, and to speculate and draw con­
clusions concerning the processes which have given rise to the
automorphic soil under study. In order to develop the argument,
however, it is first necessary to review certain accepted con­
cepts, together with one or two related fallacies that are some­
times overlooked, so that a firm basis is established for the
final deductions.

PODZOLIZATION

The generally accepted view of podzolic soil
forming processes, and their affect on soil

materials involves the theory of differential solution. Under
conditions that encourage the formation of podzolic profiles,
bases are first removed from materials exposed to soil forming

80
forces. Then iron, and possibly some alumina, becomes more soluble
and is leached downward leaving the upper solum relatively high in
silica.

It is thus that the relatively light texture of a pod-

solized Ag horizon has been explained.

Some material washed out

of the surface layers has been thought to move downward through
the developing solum until it arrives in a zone of lesser leaching
where, due to less acid conditions, it either flocculates or pre­
cipitates to produce an horizon of accumulation.

It has even been

supposed that certain quantities of fine clay actually disperse
and infiltrate through the solum, carried by the normal downward
movement of percolating water; this clay is also thought to ac­
cumulate in the B horizon either because it flocculates, with the
result that particle sizes are increased, or because it reaches
a place where the continuous pores are too small to permit farther
passage.

The A horizon is thus thought to be a zone of loss or

ELUVTATION while the B horizon is primarily a zone of ILLUVIATION.
This theory may satisfactorily account for the presence of
organic colloids in the ortstein and orterde of certain sandy
ground—water podzols.

It may also account for the presence of

relatively dark material which coats the exterior of a majority
of structural units in heavy profiles like the Miami.

It is diffi­

cult, however, to reconcile illuviation with the relatively high
interior clay content of structural units in B horizons developed
in heavy calcareous tills.

Visual evidence shows that while some

81
organic colloids may be translocated in these profiles, they are
concentrated on joint cracks and as aggregates filling shrinkage
cracks. Matrix material, as indicated by color analyses, appears
relatively unaffected by translocation.

It is, moreover,

hard

to realize how clay might enter the structural units proper since
water movements through this heavy material are extremely slow
and probably of a very small order.
From time to time investigators have cast doubt on the hypo­
thesis of large quantities of mineral clay moving through the
solum as such, but direct and conclusive proof has not yet been
put forward. Also, the fallacy of expressing analytical results
in terms of weight rather than volume has never been widely ap­
preciated, and the customary weight percentages have exaggerated
apparent differences resulting from weathering. Horizon compar­
isons on a weight basis have therefore shown such marked contrasts
that it has been difficult to conceive, much less propose, an ex­
planation based on other than translocation theories to account
for the large differences reported in investigative literature.
A major perplexity in the past has been encountered in trying
to ascertain the relationship of a solum to its underlying unweath­
ered layers; to determine whether or not the solum developed, in
fact, from materials similar to the existing C horizon.

This

obstacle has been especially great in dealing with unconsolidated
sediments which comprise most glaciated environments, where varia—

82
bility is the most conspicuous attribute of landscapes, soil mate­
rials, and soils*

Studies dealing with genesis and morphology

have therefore reached an impasse where they will in all likelyhood linger until some method has been devised to establish the
uniformity of the original parent material. The technique re­
cently advanced by Marshall fortunately shows promise of offering
-a solution to this problem.

HEAVY MINERAL
REFERENCE

Several assumptions are involved in an application of Marshall's resistant mineral method.

Important among these are:

(1) that the resistant minerals se­

lected have undergone neither physical nor chemical decomposition;
(2) that none or insignificantly small quantities of the selected
minerals are released as a result of the decomposition or disin­
tegration of coarse separates; (S) that the resistant minerals
are present in particles too large to be transported by percolating
water; and (4) that the resistant minerals are not formed within
the soil environment. Mickelson’s work on several Ohio profiles
(51) presents a satisfactory rationalization of these difficulties,
a rationalization which will not be repeated here. Although cer­
tain necessary assumptions are not entirely satisfied when the
method is applied to glacial materials, Mickelson concludes that
the errors involved are small enough not to discredit general
trends indicated by such studies. An application of the resistant

85
mineral technique to the series discussed herein, therefore appears
feasible, if not necessarily expedient.
It has already been shown that the ratios between several re­
sistant minerals justify the conclusion that only one solum, the
St Clair, developed in an apparently uniform parent profile.

Con­

over, Napanee, and Brookston all show evidence of having developed
in materials characterized by depositional differences prior to
their exposure to soil forming processes.

These differences, as

indicated by significant variations in certain resistant mineral
ratios, are confirmed by dissimilarities in particle size distri­
butions and in total chemical constituents, despite the fact that
their color and other easily discernible field characteristics
show no visible extremes between the several horizons.
In view of the origin of their parent materials and the
nature of the landscape in which Conover, Napanee and Brookston
are encountered, (the many confusions of which are depicted in
Map 5 and the accompanying descriptive legend in Appendix III),
it is not surprising that an investigation of these three profiles
has terminated in a cul-de-sac.

On the contrary, it is the uni­

formity of the St Clair materials that is of note, a uniformity
that has seldom been appreciated in glaciated materials.

Since

it can now be concluded with some justification that the

and

B horizons of the St Clair have developed in materials that were
similar in physical, chemical, and mineralogical constitution to

84
the present underlying C horizon, it is possible to elaborate on.
the genesis of this particular profile,

GENESIS OF THE
ST CLAIR SOLUM

With the data at hand, it is possible to calculate the volume of a representative sample

of each horizon associated with one gram of resistant mineral
and thereby reconstruct an hypothetical parent profile represent­
ing materials as they originally existed when the present landsurface was first exposed to weathering.
Marshall (2, 46, 47, 51) has proposed the equation D_= dv
V
where V is the volume of any particular horizon associated with
one gram of resistant mineral, v is the volume of parent material
containing one gram of the same mineral, and d is the present
thickness of the horizon in question.

D then represents the ori­

ginal thickness of the parent material required to produce the
present horizon. Making use of this equation, a soil forming
factor, or perhaps more precisely a weathering factor based on
heavy opaque very fine sand, has been calculated for the

and

B horizons of the St Clair solum.
Table IS outlines the logic of this line of reasoning.

The

results show that both the A„ and B horizons have suffered a net
loss of materials, the former now representing about 60$ of the
volume originally occupied by its parent material. Losses from
the B horizon have been much smaller, but it is of interest that

86

Table 13* Genesis of the St Clair profile. Calculation
of the probable net changes in parent mater­
ial repaired to produce equivalent horizon volumes.
Procedure

B

1 Per cent by weight of organic-free
very fine sand In sample (from Table 2)

16.5

10.2

8.4

2 Weight in grans of lOOcc (from Table 1)

137

155

176
>

3 Grams of very fine sand per lOOec of
sample
(line 1 x line 2)

i
22.6

15.7

14.7

4*15

4.83

4.28

.936

.759

•628

6 Per cent by weight of opaque minerals in
the heavy very fine sand
(Table 10) 119.3

15.9

16.2

7 Grams of heavy opaque very fine sand In
lOOcc of sample (line 5 x line 6)

.120

.102

833

980

4 Per cent by weight of heavy minerals in
the very fine sand fraction (Table 10)

!f
i

i

5 Grams of heavy very fine sand per lOOcc
of sample
(line 3 x line 4)

i
i
i
i

i

.181

8 Volume of soil containing i gram of
heavy opaque very fine sand(l / line 7)
I 9

|

S

C

h.

WEATHERING FACTOR Number of cc of parent material required to produce lcc of
the present horizon

i[
!

1.77

1.18

i.oo

!

86

Table 14. Genesis of the St Glair profile, net changes
being deduced from the heavy opaque very fine
sand indices. Values are in grams; separates are carbon­
ate-free -weights.
Fine m
X-CO^ clay c^ay Silt Sand

Sum**

vr

61.7 94.7 79.3 91.7
11.1 23.4 73.0 38.6
50.6 71.3 6.3 53.1

310.9
135.0
174.9

312
137
175 |

41.0 63.1 52.8 61.2
48.2 60.5 48.6 36.8
-7.2 2.6 4.2 24.4

207.2
154.0
52.2

208
155

25.5 34.7 53.5 44.7 51.8

175.5

176 |

Sum**

vw\

A2 horizon
Original weight* 45*2
Present weight
0*0
Net loss
; 45.2
i
B horizon
Original weight* | 30.1
Present weight
8.5
Net loss
21.6
G horizon*

X*C03

SiOg

FegO*

AI2O3

53 1

•

&2 horizon
Original weight*
Present weight
§ Net loss

45.2
0.0
45.2

213.0
312.9
100.1

15.2
5.6
9.6

27.8
9.0
18.8

301.2
127.5
173.7

3d
137
174

B horizon
Original weight*
Present weight
Net loss

30.1
8.5
21.6

141.9
114.2
27.7

10.2
7.3
2.9

18.5
10.7
7.8

200.7
140.7
60.0

208
155
53

25.5

120.1

8.6

15.7

169.9

176

I

C horizon*

* Calculated weight of parent material required to produce
lOOcc of the indicated horizon* Index for Ajj is 1*77; for B,1.18.
** Summation of the columns to the left*
0 Total weights calculated on the basis of the present volume
weight of the C horizon.
+ Thft assumed parent material, used in the above calculations*

87
these changes are definite losses rather than gains.
Table 14 carries these speculations a step further to show
the net changes that may have brought about the evolution of the
present St Clair solum. Here it is seen that both silt and sand
particles in the

and B horizons have diminished in size.

Sand

appears to have disintegrated to a greater extent than silt, in­
dicating that the ultimate grain size of the materials in question
apparently falls within the silt range.

Clay, and especially

fine clay, constitutes the greatest loss from the A„ zone, but
this does not mean that clay minerals are necessarily more sus­
ceptible to removal than carbonates which have entirely disappeared
from the upper solum. Losses of clay are much greater from the Ag
than from the B horizon; in fact, the loss from the A

is 4 times

greater than its present content, from which it is deduced that
the clay now in the upper solum is not inherited from the parent
material but that it has been formed in place either through syn­
thesis of decomposition products or through disintegration of
larger particles.
In the B horizon there has been a net increase in fine clay,
a fact that might seem to support Glinka's illuviation theory.
There has, however, been enough disintegration of larger particles
within the B layer materials to account for this entire increase
in fine clay.

In this connection it is of interest to note that

88

the clay separate as a whole has shown a loss, an indication that
even these small particles are undergoing a certain amount of dis­
integration and chemical attrition.
Another bit of evidence is contained in Table 14 to indicate
that illuviation may be responsible for some fine clay in the B
horizon*

This is seen in the discrepancy between the calculated

loss in mass as indicated by volume weight values, and the losses
obtained by adding net decreases in silica, iron, and aluminum,
a difference amounting to about 7 grams.

This is nearly equal to

the net increase in fine clay in the B horizon, so that it may be
concluded that this illuviated zone has received by translocation
within the profile non-mineral clays to the extent of about 7 grams
per 100 cc of volume.

Field observations confirm this conclusion

as far as qualitative comparisons are concerned.
The ratio of silica, iron, and alumina in the calculated
losses is worthy of comment because it closely resembles the
ratio in which these same ingredients are found in subsurface
drainage waters of this area (see Table 9). Comparing these
values for the Ag and B horizons shows that initial losses of
iron and alumina are relatively large.

As the material becomes

mor9 and more depleted in iron and alumina, silica losses appear
relatively greater, perhaps because the solubility rate of silica
does not decrease as rapidly as the solubilities of alumina and

89
iron, and also because silica reserves are much larger than re­
serves of the latter.
Once the land surface became stabilized by a vegetational
cover it is extremely unlikely that colloidal material, as such,
was lost from the developing solum as a result of either lateral
or vertical translocation.

Evidence of the inherent stability of

soil colloids is readily seen in the clearness of subsurface drain­
age waters.

More probably the fine clay undergoes disintegration

(in a manner similar to the larger particles) to ultimate decom­
position, after which the various components leave the soil in an
ionic form.

This process is naturally more rapid and more exten­

sive in the surface layers; its intensity decreases with depth al­
though chemical weathering still prevails in the B horizon.

The

clay of the B horizon, then, has been largely inherited from its
parent material.

This original clay has probably been modified

by other clay formed as a result of larger particles weathering
in place and possibly by additions of a more-or-less organic na­
ture carried down from the surface.

It is extremely doubtful that

the present B horizon is primarily a zone of illuviation, although
illuviation has undoubtedly contributed to its characteristics.
On the whole, the present physical nature of the B horizon has
more likely been caused by a great loss of basic materials.
The absence of these bases has contributed to the plastic

90

Hue

!
«>* j
,

^

f

$

4* H r

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Hoe
Figure 2* Color correlated nith chemical analysis.

91
characteristics of the inherited clay which has become more easily
dispersible and therefore more subject to volume changes resulting
from alternate wetting and drying.

These volume changes have, in

turn, promoted the development of a characteristic B horizon
structure which is -also inherited from the parent material, but
which has been modified by an ever-increasing number of joint
cracks that form wherever a plane of weakness results.

SOIL COLOR

One other relationship is worthy of discussion.
The data accumulated in the course of this study

offers an opportunity to search for factors causing soil color
differentiations.

An attempt was therefore made to relate the

colors to some chemical or physical attribute of the various soil
materials.

Early investigators in this field proved that the red

hue, which was primarily of interest in this study, could be at­
tributed to iron; they also pointed out that the finer particles
are of the greatest importance since it is the colloids with their
immense ^covering” capacity that are responsible for the visual
differentiation of horizons within the solum.
Figure 2 shows the relationship or lack of relationship that
exists between hue and the various ratios of iron, alumina, and
silica.

Of the three possible ratios only that between alumina

and iron shows a significant color relationship.

It is therefore

concluded that the hue value, and therefore color, depends in part

92
upon the amount of replacement or adsorbed iron associated with
the clay minerals.

95
CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARY
A detailed study of the physical and chemical attributes
of calcareous till materials, and of certain profiles that have
evolved in these materials within a rather limited geographical
area, has revealed a higher degree of parent material uniformity
than has commonly been attributed to glacial drift*
The anomolous Napanee profile is sufficiently different from
other profiles developed in this area to warrant separation as an
unique series.

On the other hand, the automorphic St Clair pro­

file is so similar to Miami and Isabella that a separation based
only on color, particle size characteristics, and chemical con­
stituents does not appear justified.

It is recognized, however,

that differences in productivity, surface formation, and other
field characteristics may outweigh profile similarities and that
the St Clair series may therefore be justified by attributes that
have not been measured or that are not measurable by existing
laboratory techniques.
The St Clair profile has been shown to have evolved in a
rather uniformly heterogeneous parent material. On the contrary
Napanee, Conover, and Brookston have developed in materials show­
ing definite dissimilarities, particularly with respect to the
surface layers. An hypothesis has been advanced that these dif—

94
ferences are somewhat depositional in nature and that they may have
been caused by wave action which sorted the surface layers as they
emerged from the post-glacial lakes* Wave-washing is thought to
have resulted not only in a lateral loss of fine materials from
the topmost portions, but also in a sorting of the light and heavy
minerals, thus producing both a textural and a mineralogical pro­
file before the landsurface was fully exposed to soil forming
forces.
In these heavy calcareous tills, soil forming processes re­
sult in the disintegration and decomposition of minerals of all
sizes, accompanied by a complete removal of carbonates from the
upper solum.

In the so-called zone of accumulation, or illu-

viated horizon, weathering and leaching are less severe but are
still the dominant processes.

Thus the heavy clayey character­

istics of the B horizon are not primarily caused by the deposi­
tion of clay translocated from the overlying layers; more impor­
tant is the loss of bases, complemented by apparent increases in
other less soluble components of the soil mass. Horizon compari­
sons, expressed in terms of volume rather than weight, indicate
that illuviation is probably not as dominant nor as effective in
the formation of the Gray-Brown Podzolic profile as has commonly
been supposed.

95
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1915

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Petrographic Studies Bearing on the Genesis
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Proe. 2d Inter* Cong. Soil Science
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3
4

Baldwin, Mark Correlation Notes (unpublished)
U.S.B.A. Bur. of F.I., A.E., and Soils

1937

Boswell, P. 6 . H.
On the Mineralogy of Sedimentary Rocks
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1933

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1934
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Caty, J. G.
Some Mineralogical Characteristics of Podzols
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1940

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Heavy Mineral Assemblages of Soils From
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1938

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The Relation of Soil Character to
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Reconnaissance Soil Survey of Chio
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96
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Sobs Suggestions for Heavy Mineral Invest­
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1935
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The Importance of Heavy Mineral Analysis
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Geological Report on Sanilac County
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1900

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97
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Hutton, J. G •
Soil Colors, Hieir Nomenclature
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Jeffries, C. D.
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Jeffries, C • D. and J* W. “
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Some Mineralogical Char­
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35

Krynine, P. D.
Glacial Sedimentation of the QuinnipiacPequabuck Lowlands in Southern Connecticut
American Jour. Science
33: H I - 139
1937

36 Lamor, J. E. and R. S. Grim
Heavy Minerals in Illinois
Sands and Gravels of Various Ages Jour, Sed. Petr.7:781937
37 Larsen, £« S. and Berman, H. Hie Microscopic Determination
of the Nonopaque Minerals
Geol. Surv. Bull. 848
1934
38 Leverett, Frank
Glacial Formations and Drainage Features
of the Erie and Ohio Drainage Basins Geol.Surv.Mono. 1902
39

Leverett, Frank
Weathering and Erosion as TimeMeasures
American Jour. Science
27 (4th series)
1909

40

Leverett, Frank
tions of Michigan

41 Leverett, Frank
Hemisphere

Surface Geology and Agricultural Condi­
Mich. Geol. and Biol. Survey
1917
Pleistocene Glaciation in the Northern
Geologic Society of America
1929

42 Leverett, Frank and F. B. Taylor
U* S. G. S. Monograph 53

43 McCaughey, T. J. and W. H. Fry
of Soil Forming Minerals

Pleistocene Glaciation
1927

Microscopic Determination
U.S.D.A. Bur.Soils Bull. 91 1913

98
u

McGool, M. M., J. 0. Veatch and C. H« Spurway
Soil Profile
Studies in Michigan
Soil Science 16 s 95 - 106
1923

45 Marbut, Curtis F.
Atlas of American Agriculture
III Soils of Die United States
U. S. D. A.
1935

46 Marshall, C. E. A Petrographic Method for the Study of Soil
Formation Processes Proc.Soil Sci.Soe.Amer. 5:100-103 1940
Die Correlation of Soil
47 Marshall, C. E. and C. D. Jeffries
Types and Parent Materials with Supplementary Information on
Weathering Processes Proc.Soil Sci.Soc.Amer.l0:397-406 1946
48 Matelski, R. P. Heavy Mineral Investigations of Some Podzol
Soil Profiles in Michigan Ph. D. Diesis M. S. C.
1947
49 Michigan Department of Health
Engineering Bulletin NO. 15

Municipal Water Softening
1928

Soil Survey of Newaygo County, Michigan
50 Mick, A. H. et al
U.S.D.A. Soil Survey Report (in Press)
(1937)
Mineralogical Composition of Diree Soil
51 Mickelson, G. A.
Types . . with . . Reference to Changes . . Indicated by . .
Heavy Minerals Ph. D. Thesis, Ohio State University
1943
52 Munsell, A. H.
D. Van Nostrand Co.

A
Baltimore

Color Notation
1926

A Method for Determining the Color of
53 Nickerson, Dorothy
Agricultural Products
U.S.D.A. Technical Bull., 154
1929
54 Qefelem, R. T. Mineralogical Study of Loess Near St.Charles,
Missouri
Jour. Sed. Petr. 4: 36 - 44
1934
55

O’Neal, A. M.
Soil Science

Die Effect of Moisture on Soil Colors
16 : 275 - 279
1923

Persistency of Heavy Minerals and
56 PettiJohn, F. J.
Geologic Age
Journal of Geology 49: 610 - 625
1941
Preliminary Color Standards and Color
57 Rice, T. D. et al
Names for Soils
TJ.S.D.A. Misc, Pub. 425
1941
58

Rittenhouse, G. Curves for Determining Probable Errors
in
Heavy Mineral Studies
Rpt. Comm. Sed, Nat. Res. Coun. 1940

99
59 Rnbey, W. W. The Size Distribution of Heavy Minerals Within
A Water-Laid Sandstone
Jom. Sed, Petr. 3* 3 -29
1933

60 Shaw, C, F.
Proc.

Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.

Soil Color Standards
2 ; 431 - 436
1937

61 Shaw, C, F. and M, Baldwin
U. S. D, A,

(mimeographed)

Bibliography of Soil Series
1938

62

Sherman, D. G, and G. A* Thiel
Dolomitization in GlacioLacustrine Silts of Lake Agassiz Geol.Soc.Amer.50:1535 1939

63

Skinner, W. W, Official and Tentative Methods of Analysis of
the Official Agricultural Chemists (4th edition)
1935

Variation in the Properties of Peorian Loess
64 Smith, G, D.
and Their Pedological Significance Ph.D.Thesis, U.of 1111940
65

Smithson, F.
Statistical Methods in Sedimentary Petrology
Geol. Mag. 76: 297 -309, 348 -359, 417 - 426
1939

66 Smithson, F. Alteration of Detrital Minerals in the Mesozoic
Hocks of Yorkshire

6? Striker, M. M.
8.

S. D.

A.

Geol. Mag.

68* 97 - 112

1941

Soil Survey of Lenawee County, Michigan
SoilSurvey Report (inpublication)
(1946)

68 Taylor, F. B. The Glacial and Postglacial Lakes of the Great
Lakes Region
69

Smithsonian Report, pp. 291 - 321

1912

Troland, L. T. Report of Colorimetry Committee for 1920-1921
Jour. Opt. Soc. Amer. and Rev. Sci. Instr. 6*527 - 596 1922

70 Veatch, J. 0.
U. S. D. A.

Soil Survey of Ottawa County, Michigan
SoilSurvey Report
1922

71 Veatch, J. 0.
8 . D. D.
A.

Soil Survey of Ingham County, Michigan
SoilSurbey Report
1941

72 Veatch, J. 0. and 0. B. Winter Unpublished Notes on the
Ohfflqiffia-T Analysis of Selected Michigan Profiles
1925—1935
Soil Minerals as a Check on the Wisconsin73 White, G. W.
IUinoian Drift Boundary
Science
79: 549 - 550
1934
74 Wilder, H. J. and Geib, W. J.
8 . S. D. A. Soil Survey Reprt

Survey of the Pontaic Area
1904

100
75

WLlderinuth., R. et al Soil Survey
U. S* D* A. Soil Survey Report

ofVanBuren County* Michigan
1922

76

Willis, E. A., F. A. Robeson and
C.M. Johnston
Graphical
Solution of the Data Famished by the Rydrometer Method of
Analysis
Public Roads
12: 208 - 215
1931

77

Wintermeyer, A. M., E. A. Willisand 1. G. Thoreen Procedures
for Testing Soils for the Determination of the Subgrade Soil
Constants
Public Roads
12: 197 - 208
1931

101

APPENDIX I

TECHNIQUE OF PHYSICAL ANALYSES

It is generally recognized that an investigation into the
nature and properties of soils and soil materials depends largely
upon the sampling techniques employed.

In the final analysis, a

study is only as good as the samples on which it is based*

But

perhaps of more importance than mere technique is the personal
concept of the investigator, -who is inescapably a victim of his
own attitudes and bias*

A study must therefore be evaluated pri­

marily on the basis of the investigator’s experience and object­
ivity.

For this reason no involved descriptions of sampling

procedures are offered.

It suffices to say that profiles were

selected not through any scheme of randomization, but rather be­
cause each was thought to represent a typical development in tie
concept of the modern taxonomist* As a concession to statistical
theories, duplicate samples were obtained in order to reveal the
extent of significant variations*

VOLUME "HEIGHT
and
POEOSITY

Pits were dug to expose what were thought to be
representative profiles. Within these pits hor­

izon aampifts were marked out and separated from adjacent materials
by narrow trenches on all sides.

Without disturbing the partial

102
monolith so formed, plaster—of—paris was poured around and over
it in sufficient Quantities to provide an affective support and
shield*

After hardening, the block and contents were removed,

inverted, and transported to the laboratory, thus assuring an
undisturbed sample*

Two profiles were sampled to allow dupli­

cate laboratory determinations*
In the laboratory, a subsample of about 200cc was selected
from each block.

Prom these portions, representative structural

units were chosen for drying and weighing.

Oven-dry units were

then immersed in melted paraffin, drained and cooled. When cool
their volumes were determined by displacement in water under a
vacuum to remove adsorbed air* As a check on volume weight
values so determined,
face*

the original block was leveled on its open

Then all soil was removed from the plaster-of-paris mold*

The soil material was oven-dried and weighed, while the mold was
measured as to volume*

This procedure yielded a second volume

weight value which in every sample agreed well with the first.
An example of the data so obtained is tabulated below:
Volume weight of the St Glair Ag horizon
Sample 1
Determined from block subsample
Determined from block as a whole
Average

Sample 2

1.378
1*366

1.382
1*357

1*372

1*369

Specific gravities were measured by means of a pycnometer,
two determinations being made of each sample* Porosities were

103
then calculated using the formula

Per cent porosity - loo -

PARTICLE SIZE
DISTRIBUTIONS

" g g & y ) * 100

Accumulation curves were obtained on duplicate
samples of each horizon in the several profiles

by the Bouyoucos hydrometer method (5, 6, 7), modified in minor
details by subsequent Investigators (79; 77} • Sedimentation temp­
eratures were controlled by a constant water bath.

Sodium oxalate

was used as a dispersant in order to avoid carbonate losses, The
resulting accumulation curves were graphically analyzed and
supplemented by additional measurements obtained by fractioning
coarse sediments with an automatic vertical type seive.

Hie data

were then converted to an oven-dry basis and organized as Table 2.
Early investigators apparently gave liitle thought to the
fact that calcite and dolomite, although they have disappeared
from the upper solum, constitute a rather large proportion of the
Gray-Brown Podzolic parent materials. In order to discover the
particle size distribution of these carbonate minerals, aliquot
portions of sand and silts weretreated with HC1 and boiled until
effervescence ceased.
dried and weighed.

Hie residue was washed several times, then

From these values the amount of carbonate

s-h-ing as d a y was calculated.
grated into Table 3»

These results have been inte­

104
Despite the quantitative nature of the foregoing determin­
ations , it is felt that their accuracy is as great as is justified
by the sampling techniques.

The soils in question are character­

ized by relative uniform particle size distributions.

The fact

that their summation curves do not exhibit sharp breaks aliens the
assumption that hydrometer readings represent points rather than
portions of the curve. Although more accurately expressed in the
form of settling velocity curves, the data have been calculated to
conventional size-frequency distribution classes, -which are more
readily interpreted.

It should be noted that the fine clay class

in particular is subject to erroneous interpretation;

it is con­

sidered sufficiently valid, however, to permit comparisons between
the several soils in this study.

COLOR

Nickerson (53) has rather completely described the theory

and application of the Maxnell-MunseU color system to this type
of investigation.

The following remarks are therefore confined

to the adaptations that proved necessary in the course of the -work.
Samples were prepared by lightly crushing soil structural
units until they passed through a 20—mesh screen.

This crushed

material was then mounted on a gray cardboard disk, to the back of
which was affixed a rubber stopper#

Die mounting was accomplished

by sprinkling the soil in wet rubber cement.

A small electric fan

motor was used to rotate this soil color disk, to which it was

105
attached by slipping the rotor shaft into a slightly under-sized
hole in the afore-mentioned stopper*

The purpose of rotating

color samples is to eliminate surface shadows which otherwise
obscure the surface*

A rapidly rotating color disk presents a

smooth texture to the observer*

In thus el-i-mina-tring structural

factors, an unknown color can be matched with a high degree of
accuracy*
Using these mounted samples, soil eolors were matched with
four standard colors of known hue, brilliance, and chroma. Stand­
ard colors were in the form of circular disks slotted radially so
that all four slipped together with a portion of each showing.
Exposed areas were measured in terms of angular percentages by
means of a graduated circular base.
Major sources of error in this technique arise from differ­
ences of lighting and viewing.

In this investigation good natur­

al daylight was available in a laboratory generously supplied
with skylights.

In order to minimize day-to-day variations, a

complete series of samples were mounted and otherwise prepared so
that actual matching might be accomplished in a minimum of time.
The viewing angle was fixed by employing an improvised screen of
neutral gray cardboard and a headrest} matching was done by view­
ing the juxtaposed rotating disks through small windows in the
cardboard screen which also served to block out distracting fact­
ors.

Six 2-hour periods were required to make the necessary

106
adjustments and readings.

In order to insure equal light from

period to period, a Weston photographic lightmeter was used to
measure light intensities at the sere® surface.

Colors were

matched only under similar conditions of light intensities. The
results of this analysis are presented in Table 4.

APPENDIX II
TECHNIQUE OF CHEMICAL ANALYSES
Samples for the total chemical comparisons were set aside
from the original samples described in Appendix I.

Two hundred

grams were allotted for determinations of the bulky constituents,
and the sands from the mechanical analyses were saved for petrographic examination.
TOTAL CHEMICAL
ANALYSIS*

The official and tentative procedures Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (63)

was followed as a guide.

Some departures, however, were made in

order to adapt the various methods to the materials and equipment
at hand.

*

A brief description of the analysis is here set down

This work was suggested and guided by Dr. D. G. Sherman.

107
because of its simplicity and fundamental soundness. All deter­
minations were made in duplicate and their averages recorded in
Table 5.
Preparation of the Sample

About 30 grams of sample were ground

and mixed in an agate mortar.

Two 5 gram subsaraples from this lot

were used to determine hygroscopic moisture so that the ensuing
data might be reduced to an oven-dry basis.
Fusion

Approximately 1 gram of the above was weighed on a scoop

and transferred to a lOOcc nickel crucible.
mixed 1 gram of sodium peroxide.

To it was .added and

The mixture was cautiously

heated over a Fisher burner until the fusion had quieted.

Then

about 5 grans of sodium hydroxide were melted into it, the cru­
cible being heated to a barely perceptible redness and slowly
rotated. After cooling the fusion was dissolved in water and
transferred to a large porcelain casserole.
Beterwd nation of

na.

The contents of the casserole were

evaporated to dryness, cooled, and dissolved in absolute methyl
alcohol. After several re-evaporations in alcohol, the residue
was acidified and filtered through Whatman No.40 paper.

Die filt­

rate was returned to the original casserole and again dehydrated
with alcohol, thenacidified and filtered.
ected in a beaker and set aside.

The filtrate was coll­

108

Hie silica bearing filters from the above procedure were
carefully dried and charred in a muffle furnace*

Then they were

ignited for 30 minutes, cooled, and weighed. After re-ignition
to a constant weight, the impurities were determined by
solving the silica with hydrofluric acid.

dis­

The residue was ig­

nited to a constant weight, and the difference between the two
weights was assumed to be silica.
The impurities from above were fused with a few crystals of
potassium bisulfate, then dissolved in water and returned to the
main filtrate.
Determination of Aluminum

The aluminum in this filtrate was

separated by precipitating all other cations with a solution of
sodium-hydroxide-carbonate. The aluminum remained in solution as
sodium aluminate.

The filtrate was decanted and acidified with

concentrated HG1 using phenol red as an indicator. The solution
was then boiled to expel COg and the pH adjusted to 7*5 with con­
centrated HH^OH. After digestion on a hot plate, the granular
Al(OH)^ precipitate was separated with a Miatman N0.31 filter.
The filtrate was discarded.

The precipitate was dissolved and

re-precipitated, then washed free of chlorides and ignited to a
constant weight. The hygroscopicity of the aluminum oxide was
troublesome so that the crucible had to be kept covered*

109
Determination of Iron

Die precipitate separated from the sod­

ium aluminate -was dissolved -with hot HC1 and diluted to 200cc .
The iron was then precipitated with NH^OH using bromthymol blue
as an indicator.
calcium.

The filtrate was set aside for separation of

The precipitate was taken up with hpt sulfuric acid and

the iron determined by reduction to the ferrous state and titra­
tion with potassium permanganate.

Reduction was accomplished by

neutralizing with concentrated ammonia almost to the point of
precipitation.

The solution was heated to boiling and then am­

monium bisulfite added.
Determination of Calcium

The filtrate from above was heated and

the calcium precipitated with ammonium oxalate. Because of the
presence of large quantities of sodium salts a double precipit­
ation was considered necessaiy. After re-igniting to redness in
a muffle furnace, the residue was dissolved in acetic acid.

Re­

precipitated with ammonium oxalate, the quantity of calcium pre­
sent was determined by titration with potassium permanganate to
a faint persistant pink.
Deternn

on of Mapnaajnm

The filtrate from the calcium pro­

cedure was treated with di—ammonium phosphate which precipitates
the magnesium as

• 'Die latter salt is separated by a

TShatman No.40 filter and ignited at a high heat for 30 minutes.
The factor 0.3621 is used to obtain the weight of MgO from the
weighed precipitate.

no

DeteiMnation of COg

Carbonate COg was determined by treating a

known sample of soil with 1 s 1 HC1, boiling the mixture to assure
the reaction of dolomitic carbonates, and passing the gases which
were evolved through ascarite adsorption bulbs.

The increase in

weight of the ascarite was reported as COj .

MIHERALOGICAL
ANALYSIS

Petrographic studies were confined to the vezy
fine sand fractions obtained from mechanical

analyses.

The very fine sand fraction was first separated into

light and heavy fractions by means of a heavy liquid, S.tetrabromethane and nitrobenzene, adjusted to a specific gravity of 2.90.
These fractions were first studied in an exploratory manner to
discover what mineral species constituted the bulk of the mater­
ial.

Counts were then made of the principal species in an

attest to reveal essential similarities and dissimilarities.
To accomplish the separation of the light and heavy miner­
als, about 2 grams of each sample were placed in a small centri­
fuge tube containing the heavy liquid.

These were centrifuged

for three 30-minute periods, each following a vigorous stirring
of the supernatant liquid.

The light minerals were decanted and

the heavy fraction was transferred to a small casserole. Both
fractions were washed with acetone, dried and weighed.
The fractions were then spread on gelatinized slides to per­
mit the changing of immersion liquids without washing off and

Ill
losing the particles.* Microscopic studies of refractive indices,
pleochroism, extinction angles, color, and shape were an used in
identifying the various mineral species.

The standard tables of

Larsen and Berman (37) were employed as a reference.

The results

of this study are presented in Table 10.

* A procedure suggested by Dr. John Young, formerly of the Geol­
ogy

Department at Michigan State College, and since described

by Marshall and Jeffries (47).

112
APPENDIX I H
TAXGNQMI and DESCRIPTIVE LEGEND
Although the following legend illustrates the general rela­
tionships between the many series depicted in Map; 3, it is empha­
sized that there is seldom a single differentiating characteristic
between any two series, even when comparing, for example, such
closely related units as members of the same catena.

The charact­

eristics listed in the legend and the differences outlined in the
key are believed, however, to constitute the principal criteria
for pragmatic identification and differentiation of the various
soil entities which are associated with the profiles discussed in
the foregoing study.

A valid appreciation of the selected pro­

files is difficult to attain without an understanding of the landscape in which they exist, ond of which they form an integral part.
This appendix and supplemental map are designed to present a descrip­
tion of that landscape, and to provide a brief but systematic
morphological outline of the taxonomic units comprising the land.

SLOPE and RELIEF

A landscape cannot be adequately described with­
out soma mention of the attitude of the land

surface#

The areal concept of taxonomic entities recognizes that

each unit is characterized by distinctive slope gradients. For
example, in the landscape under study, the Hennepin series attains

113
its typical development on steep slopes* At the other extreme
are the hydromorphic series, confined to 1-anH surfaces with a
nd.ni.Tm2m of gradient*

All studies of this nature are founded

principally on practical considerations^ hence, slope descriptions
and classifications are determined by their applied a-ignifif»anr*gt
In this study, five slope classes were defined, each designated
by a capital letter, as shown in the following table:

Surface texture

Slope classes and their limits in per cent
A

B

C

D

Sands, loamy sands,
sandy loams,
and 0 - 3
light loams

3-8

8-15

Heavy loams,
silt
loams, silty clay 0 - 2
loams, clay loams

2 - 6

6 - 10 10 - 20

15-25

E
Over 25

Over 20

All property defined taxonomic units possess characteristics
falling within a single slope class. Although some series may hare
included two or more of the above classes within their normal gra­
dient range, a type is usually limited to a single slope class. A
particular slope class is therefore regarded as normal for a given
type, and in field mapping the normal slope sign is generally
omitted from identifying symbols. For*example, the Hennepin series
is defined as developing only on steep slopesj areas identified by
the symbol «6“ are therefore not modified by an "E" because gradi­
ents over 20% are normal for the Hennepin soils. In some places,

114
however, a typical St Clair profile is found on steep slopes; these
areas are identified by the symbol ,,14E lf since steeply

wg sur­

faces are abnormal for this series.

EROSION

Compared with the recognition and definition of slope
classes, a precise description and delineation of the

work of accelerated erosion is a difficult task. Phases resulting
from erosion cannot be defined in terms that are applicable to »n
parts of the country, or even to all types of soil.

The number of

erosion phases recognized, and the degree of refinement of their
definitions depaid largely on the objectives of the mapping and
the scale employed.
In this study, three general classes were defined, primarily
on the basis of profile completeness. These classes were not, how­
ever, defined mathematically in terms of soil losses because the
significance of erosion mnst be evaluated in relation to other
factors, including the nature of the profile and the associated
slopes.
Because the greater part of the land surface in the selected
area displayed little or no evidence of destruction by accelerated
erosion, this condition was accepted as normal and has not been
identified by a special symbol, inhere erosion symbols are lacking,
therefore, the land has not been sufficiently altered to require
changes in current management practices, nor are special practices

115

required to prevent serious erosion losses*
Land that has suffered recognizable erosion to such a degree
that the thickness of the surface layers has been significantly
reduced has been identified as an eroded phase” indicated by the
symbol “I”* The productivity of this land has been reduced, part­
icularly with respect to crops ordinarily grown on uneroded soil*
Erosion has not yet, however, forced an abandonment of the land.
To restore and maintain the land productivity at its original
level requires a change in management practices, and possibly the
adoption of special methods.
Ihere the surface layers have been totally lost through ero­
sion a "severely eroded phase” has been recognized and designated
by the symbol ”2”. Hie productivity of such land has been so re­
duced that it is of no longer any agricultural value.

Gullies

are conspicuous features of this phase, which is confined to steep
slopes.

USE of SYMBOLS

In order to abbreviate field notes, landscape
features are indicated on the maps by means of

symbols which, in turn, show the soil type, slope class, and ero­
sion phase. Each bounded area on the map is described by means of
a combination of these three symbols.
If erosion is not extreme in a delineated area, no erosion
symbol follows the slope letter. In other words, the soil symbol

116
or soil and slope symbol, standing alone shows that the area has
not been eroded*

If an eroded phase is indicated, the appropriate,

number is separated from the soil number by a slope letter, even
though the slope of the particular area is normal for the given
soil*
The symbol *t12G2tt is an example* It shows that a delineated
area is dominated by Conover silt loam* by slopes varying between

6 and 12$ in gradient, and that the area is so severely eroded that
the 5 horizon is at or near the land surface* The symbol ”4M alone
in an area indicates that it is dominated by St Clair silt loam, by
surfaces varying in gradient from 2 to 6$, and that erosion has
been insignificant.

KEY to the SOIL TYPES
The primary criterion in separating the soils of this area is
that of topographic position* On this basis, all series are divided
into two large groups — — those found on morainic uplands, and
those found on plains. A few units are encountered in both land­
scapes and are so listed in both groups* Subgroups, classes, series,
and types are separated wherever possible on the basis of inherent
characteristics, rather than on superficial attributes. Hie symbol
and normal gradient are indicated for each type*

117
UPLAND SOILS generally developed in morainic materials. Th** i«n^
surface is undulating or hilly, in a feu* places ksamic
and rough. Surface features are constructional, existing in the
same forms as when they emerged during the recession of the last
ice—sheet. In some places stream cutting has slightly morH fMtarf sur­
face features.
Three subgroups are recognized, on the basis of
internal aeration.
Well-drained # series are characterized by light brown surface lay­
ers containing small quantities of organic matter. Subsoils
are bright, rather than drab, in color and exhibit conspic­
uous eluviated and illuviated horizons • • • • See A
Tmperfectlv-rf^flimad • series possess gray or brownish-gray surface
layers containing moderate quantities of organic matter. The
development of a zonal profile has been impeded by ground­
water fluctuations at or near the surface. Subsoils are in
some places drab and in other places bright although mottling,
indueed by protracted periods of anaerobic conditions, is
general. Eluviated and illuviated horizons are present but
See B
not conspicuous........................ *
Poorly-drained + series have dark gray surface layers, containing
much organic matter. Subsoils are mottled and waterlogged.
Glei is often conspicuous
See C

PLAIN SOILS

developed in lacustrine materials, lake-laid till,
outwash, and sandy lake plains, the latter commonly
underlaid by calcareous lacustrine or till clay at varying depths.
X,and surfaces are plain—likej that is, they are flat or smoothly
tmrivnnt.-jngj occasionally level, with various modifications in the
form of micro—relief features* Surfaces are largely construction­
al, ai
some areas have been modified by stream dissection.
As in the above group of Upland Soils, three subgroups are found.
The characteristics of the following subgroups are identical to
those described above and are therefore not repeated below.
Well-drained................................ * •*

S®6 D

Imperfectly-drained

See B

.

.

.

.

•

•

•

•

*

•

Poorly-drained...........................

* Automorphic, and zonal.

°f$rdroperiodic.

+I^dromorphic.

See f

A ifcland •well-drained soils are divided, on the basis of their texture and content of calcar**
eons materials, into three groups* Each of these is subdivided into series and types.

118

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122
PROFILE DESCRIPTIONS
In the following pages are described in alphabetical order
the various series encountered in the areaunder study.

Here are

presented, in outline form, the identifying characteristics of
each series, the description of a typical profile, and other in­
formation necessary in identifying and delineating each soil in
the field.*

ALLENDALE

includes the ground-water podzols in southern Mich­
igan which developed in a thin layer of sands or
sandy materials overlying olay to a depth of 3 feet. The react­
ion of the overlying sand is acid while that of the clay is
neutral or slightly alkaline. These soils somewhat resemble the
Saugatuck series but they are, on the whole, better drained. The
B horizon in the Allendale is less firm and more fragmentary,
and the clay is nearer the surface than in the Saugatuck.

Profile description of Allendale fine sandy loam:
1. Forest litter and raw humus to a maximum thickness of
3 inches.
2. Dark gray single-grained fine sandy loam about 1 inch thick.
3. Gray or very light; gray loamy fine sand or fine sandy loam
5 to 10 inches thick.
4. Rusty reddish-brown fine sandy loam containing organic
matter, to a maximum thickness of 10 inches.
5. Gray sand less than 4 feet thick.
6. Moderately calcareous clay till.
Variations
*

In drainage and thickness of the various horizons.

These descriptions were assembled in the course of making a
soil survey ©f Sanilac County, Michigan, a project sponsored.
and financed jointly by the United States Department of Agri­
culture and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.

123
Topography

Undulating or gently rolling plains.

Drainage
Good except periods of heavy rainfall when the subsoil
may become temporarily water-logged because of the slow
percolation through the underlying clay till.
Natural Vegetation
Elm, ash, and white oak with scattered white
pine. Second growth is dominated by aspen.
Use

About 75% is clared and grows corn, hay, oats,
for dairying. Moderately productive.

Distribution

Michigan, Wisconsin, New York, and Northern Indiana.

Type Location

Ottawa County, Michigan.

Series Established
Map Symbol

ARENAC

pasture

Ottawa County, Michigan, 1922.

42(sepia)

soils are podzols developed in non-canformimg sands over
clay. Northern equivalent of Allendale.

Profile description of Arenac loamy sand:
1. Brown humus covered by 2 or 3 inches of forest litter.
2. Leached, stronly acid light gray loamy sand 4 to 8 inches
thick. In places, a definite lavender tint is perceptible
in the color of this A2 layer.
3. Yellowish-brown medium to strongly acid loamy sand 12 to 15
inches thick.
4. Six to 8 inches of mixed yellow fane sand and loamy sand,
medium acid in reaction.
5. One to 3 feet of yellow, strongly mottled acid sand.
6. Water- or ice-laid calcareous till.
Variations
In thickness of layers and depth to underlying till
which lies at depths of 3 to 5 feet below the surface.
Topography
Drainage

Undulating or gently rolling plains.
Externally good, internally poor or fair.

Natural Vegetation

White pine, oak, aspen, and birch.

124
Use

Undulating land is usually pastured or cropped to com,
beans, bay, and grains* Ridges are pastured or are used
for building sites*

Distribution

Northern and central Michigan.

Type Location

Bay County, Michigan.

Series Established
Map Symbol

Bay County, Michigan, 1931.

43, 44 (terra cotta).

BELLEFONTAINE

consists of several zonal types developed in
gravelly moraines, kames, and eskers.

Profile description of Bellefontaine sandy loam:
1* A thin layer of forest litter and mould.
2* Sligjhtly acid loamy sand containing rather large quantities
of finely divided organic materials. One to 3 inches thick.
3* Light gray loamy sand, acid in reaction, platy in structure,
and 1 to 2 inches thick.
4* Slightly aeid yellowish-brown sandy loam to a depth of 2^- x>r
3 feet.
5. An extrenely irregular, discontinuous red sandy clay or
reddis-brown sticky gravel, averaging 4 to 10 inches in
thickness. This is the B horizon.
6. Crossbedded calcareous sands and gravels.
’
Variations
Chiefly in depth to the gravelly substrata and in the
~
occurranee of deep sand pockets. The B horizon exhibits a
high degree of variability in thickness, color, and depth.
Topography
Drainage

Generally hilly, in places rough and kamic.
Good to excessive, both internally and externally.

Natural Vegetation
Use

Oaks and scattered pine.

Pasture, small grains, and formerly for some fruit (apples)•

Distribution
Type Location

Morainic and kamic areas of the Lake States.
Ohio

125
Series Established
Map Symbol

BRADY

Ohio, 1912.

3 (red).

includes hydromorphic soils developed in gravelly parent
materials. It is the poorly drained series of the FoxOshtemo catena.

Profile description of Brady sandy loams
1. One to 3 inches of forrest litter and mould.
2. Dark gray friable 3andy loam 6 to 8 inches thick and neu­
tral in reaction.
3. Gray waterlogged gravels, in some places calcareous.
4. Till, very impervious to water movements.
Variations The substrata may contain sand and clay, and may ex­
hibit a yellowish or brownish color.
Topography
Drainage

Low flat wet plains.
Poor.

Vegetation
Use

Sometimes marshy.

Elm, ash, silver maple, arbor vitae.

A good general farming soil when drained. Supports only
pasture or brush when undrained.

Distribution

Lake States.

Type Location

Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

Series Established
Map Symbol

BROOKSTON

Kalamazoo County, Michigan, 1922.

88 (sepia)

includes the heavy-textured hydromorphic soils devel­
oped on lake plains, till plains, and in shallow,flat
depressions in moraines.

Profile description of Brookston silt loam:
1. Dark gray or black litter and mould, lto 2 inches thick,

12§
and neutral to slightly alkaline in reaction.
2. Light gray very fine sandy loam or silt loam, 3 to 5 inches
thick, and more acid than the overlying mould.
3. Mottled gray -waterlogged silt or silt loam 5 to 7 inches
thick.
4. Brightly mottles clay loam or clay, very plastic and com­
pact in structure.
5* Mottled silty clay or clay, alkaline in reaction.
6. Plastic calcareous clay till or lacustrine clays.
Variations The depth, color, and reaction of the surface layers
and the intensity of the subsoil mottling all vary.
Topography
Drainage

Plat, usually level.
Poor.

Vegetation
Use

Elm, ash, silver maple, and hickory.

When undrained, the chief erops are timothy, clover, mixed
hay, and pasture. After artificial drainage, large yields
of beets, beans, corn, and grains are obtained.

Distribution

Southern Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

Type Location

White County, Indiana.

Series Established
Map Symbol

BURNED MUCK

White County, Indiana, 1915.

8, 18, 28

(green).

is a transitory condition large enough in area to
warrant separation. The soil xs the result of overdraining flTid later burning extensive areas of org­
anic materials.

Profile description of burned muck over clay:
1. A layer of ashy material of varying depth. Red in color, it
been observed as much as 24 inches thick but generally
does not exceed 1 or 2 inches. It is highly alkaline and
effervesces freely when treated with acid. Some sand, glei,
and unburned muck may be admixed.
2. Intense blue-gray plastic clay (glei).

127

Variations
Even where undisturbed the condition persists only
for a few decades* The tendency is towards degradation to
a Brookston or Clyde-like profile* Cultivation greatly
hastens this change* But even under cultivation the pecul­
iar blue-gray color persists in the surface "which, despite
an admixture of plastic subsoil, remains friable air* quite
easily worked# The ashy layer may be underlain by sand,
marly, muck, or peat*
Topography Level low-lying plains with abrupt micro-relief
features caused by unequal surface burning*
Drainage

Poor, but not as impeded as in the original materials*

Natural Vegetation
Use

Brushy aspen thickets, grasses, rank weeds*

Grows good beets* The original surface was sometimes burned
deliberately in order to increase beet yields*

Distribution

Lake plains of Michigan*

Type location

Near Capac, Michigan*

Series Established
Map Symbol

CARLISLE

St* Clair County, Michigan, 1929*

15, 150, 161, 60

(neutral)*

is a well-decomposed, black, granular organio soil de­
rived from woody materials* It occurs in wet depres­
sions, filled-in lake beds, and wet plains*

Profile description of Carlisle muck:
1* Dark brownish-black or black granular muck, neutral in re­
action,
containing less than 12/0 of admixed mineral
materials*
2* Less well decomposed brown peat and muck with a depth of
more than 4 feet*
Variations
Individual areas are generally uniform except in
depth# Some variation is seen in the extent of decomposition*
Topography

Plat and level*

Drainage
Poor* Undrained areas are covered with water for most
of the year*

128
Natural vegetation
Use

Hardwoods*

Drained areas produce good yields of beets, com, mint and
assorted truck*

Distribution

Southern Michigan*

Type location

Ingham County, Michigan*

Series established
Map Symbol

COLOMA

Livingston County, Michigan, 1923*

10, 20(Gray)*

developed in glacial till materials originating from sand­
stones and are thus dominated by quartz sand*

Profile description of Coloma loamy sands
1* Forest litter with a maximum thickness of about 2 inches*
2* Grayish-brown loamy sand acid in reaction and about 3 inches
thick*
3* Yellow to light yellowish-brown compact, acid sands*
4* Yellowish-brown or reddish-brown loose, acid sandy materials*
5* Yellow or gray sandy glacial till*
Variations
A few areas are gravelly and there is some variation
in the color of the subsoil horizons because of differences
in the degree of hydration of the occluded iron oxides*
Topography

Undulating to hilly*

Vegetation

Scattered deciduous forest dominated by oak*

Use

Largely cut-over pasture and waste land, locally planted tn
small fruits* grapes, peaches, and special crops*

Djstribution

On sandy glacial till from Minnesota to New England*

Type location

Kent County, Michigan*

Series established
Map symbol

35

Waushara County, Wisconsin, 1909*

(orange;*

129
CONOVER

includes imperfectly drained soils in both the Miami
and Hillsdale catenas that are intermediate in drain­
age condition between the automorphic and hydromorphic
series* They develop in caloareous glacial till*

Profile description of Conover loam:
1* Dark brownish-gray granular loam containing a high percent­
age of organic matter* medium to slightly acid* and 1 to 3
inches thick*
2* Brownish-gray friable loam* dark grayish-brown in color with
a moderately developed phylliform structure* medium to
strongly acid in reaction and 5 to 8 inches in thickness*
3* Light gray loam conspicuous with yellowish-brown mottling;
exhibits a phylliform structure, strongly acid in reaction
and 6 to 10 inches thick*
4* Tough, sticky clay loam* Heavily mottled with gray in the
upper layers but almost completely brown at greater depths*
5* Grayish-brown friable calcareous loam grading into calcar­
eous glacial till at a depth of 3 or 4 feet*
Variations

Chiefly in color of the surface layers*

Topography

Nearly level to gently undulating*

Drainage
Vegetation
Use

Imperfect*
Mixed forest, chiefly deciduous*

Cultivated, producing medium to high yields of com, small
grain, and hay*

Distribution Northern Ohio and Indiana, and southern and central Michigan*
Type location

St* Joseph County, Michigan*

Series established

Miami County, Ohio, 1916*

Map symbol

(brown)*

CLYDE

12, 22

*

is a hydromorphic series similar to Brookston but contain­
ing a higher proportion of organic matter* These soils
are dark gray or black and are characterized by deep sur­
face layers* Calcareous materials are encountered at 20
to 30 inches*

130
Profile description of Clyde loams
1* The cultivated layer is black granular loam, slightly acid
t© slightly alkaline in reaction#
2# Gray plastic glei ranging in depth from 15 to 20 inches be­
low the surface and from 4 to 6 inches in thickness#
5# Mottled plastic gritty clay#
4# Calcareous or gritty clay at 20 to 50 inches#
Variations
This series represents transitional conditions bet­
ween Brookston on one extreme and shallow-phase muck on the
other#
Topography
Drainage

Flat low clay plains#
Poor, both internally and externally#

Natural vegetation
Use

Elm, ash, oak, willow, alders#

Produces high yields of beans and beets#

Distribution

Plains of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana#

Type location

Indiana#

Series established
Map symbol

EASTPORT

9

Allegan County, Michigan, 1901#

(bluej#

consists of immature asonal soils developing in rec­
ently deposited sandy parent materials of the present
lake beaches#

Profile description of Eastport sands
1# One to 2 inches of yellow sand containing admixed undecomp­
osed organic matter#
2# Uniform yellowish sand, with no texture, color, or structure
profile#
Variations

Gravel and day inclusions#

Topography

Undulating and broken ridges, with dune-like features#

Drainage

Good#

131
Vegetation
Pse

A few shrubs, oaks, and grasses.

Recreation, resort sites.

Distribution

Beaches of the Lake States.

Type Location

Bay County, Michigan.

Series Established
Map Symbol

FOX

Bay County, Michigan, 1926.

75 (yellow)•

is mapped on deep gravelly outwash plains in the Podzolic
and Gray-Brown Podzolic regions.

Profile description of Pox sandy loam:
1. One to 2 inches of forest litter and mould.
2. A thin layer of sandy loam humus soil, neutral to slightly
acid in reaction.
3. Grayish-yellow loamy sand with a platy structure. Slightly
acid to neutral in reaction, and 6 to 8 inches thick.
4. Ten to 12 inches of yellowish-brown, compact sandy loam.
5. Reddish-brown, sticky clayey sand and gravel from 4 to 10
inches thick. Very irregylar in depth.
6. Crossbedded calcareous sands and gravels.
Variations Relatively uniform except for the development of the
B horizon which reflects, in an exaggerated manner, slight
differences in the texfcure, mineral content, and internal
drainage of the parent material.
Topography
Drainage

Plat to gently undulating.
Good.

Vegetation
Use

Oak, and red and white pine.

General farming.

Distribution
Type location

Lake States.
Berrien County, Michigan.

Series Established

Columbia County, Wisconsin, 1911.

132
GENESEE

includes "the alluvial soils on natural levees and first
benches above the stream level*

Profile description of Genesee sandy loams
1* Surface is light grayish brown or reddish-brown unconsolid­
ated sandy loam slightly aoid to neutral in reaction.
2. Subsoil and substrata are stratified sands and silts, yel­
lowish-brown in color, and slightly acid to neutral in re­
action.
Tariations

Chiefly in texture.

Topography Level, but with a rough micro-relief. Generally
separated from other soils by steep, stream-cut slopes.
Drainage

Imperfect to good.

Natural vegetation
Pse

Hardwoods, hemlock, sycamore.

Pasture; areas are too small, irregular, and isolated for
cultivation.

Distribution Azonal
Type location

Livingston County, New York.

Series established
Map symbol

GILFORD

91

Livingston County, New York, 1908.

(asurej.

is a hydromorphic series developed in gravelly mater­
ials. It therefore is associated with the Fox and Oshtemo soils as the poorly drained member of the catena.

Profile description of Gilford sandy loam.
1. A 1 to 2 inch layer of forest litter and mould.
2. 2 to 3 inches of humus soil, loam in texture, grayishbrown in color, and neutral to slightly alkaline in reaction*
3. A light gray sandy loam layer, acid in reaction and 2 or 3
inches thick.
4. Yellowish-gray or brownish-gray sandy loam grading into
the underlying layer.
5. Crossbedded , stratified, waterlogged gravels and sands at
depths between lg and 3 feet below the surface.

133

Chiefly in the depth to the gravelly subsoil and in
internal drainage. The amount of gravel in the surface,
and the color of the surface layers, also vary.
£°E?ffia3?ky Low
gravelly outwash plains, and depressions
associated with the Pox and Oshtemo soils.
Drainage Poor, internally and externally.
Vegetation
?8g.

Lone pine*flm and ash.

General farming, the chief crops being corn, grain, and
pasture.

Distribution

Lake States.

Type location

Tuscola County, Michigan.

Series Estalbished
Map Symbol

GRANBY

Tuscola County, 1938

89 (olive green).

includes the hydromorphie members of catenas formed in
deep sandy smears over clay. This series is found in
association with the Arenac and Plainfield.

Profile description of Granby sandy loam:
1. One to 2 inches of litter and leaf mould.
2. Two to 6 inches of humus soil containing ahigh proportion
of finely divided organic matter. This layer is friable,
black in color, and neutral in reaction.
3. Three to 6 inches of ligxt gray, harsh, loamy sand, slightly
acid in reaction.
4. Dingy gray or brownish-gray loamy sand, 4 to 8 inches thick.
5. Gray waterlogged sand to depths of over 40 inches. This sub­
soil is generally alkaline although not necessarily calcar­
eous.
Variations The surface may appear quite mucky.
Topography Low, flat sandy plains and depressions in sandy hills.
Drainage

Poor.

Natural vegetation

Arbor vitae, willow, alder, aspen.

134
Ifg

General faming, chiefly in pasture#

Distribution

Lake plains of Michigan

Type locations

Oswego County, New York.

Series established
Map symbol

GRIFFIN

Oswego County, New York, 1917.

57, 58 (olive green).

include the poorly-drained alluvial soils of the first
bottoms and flood plains in stream valleys.

Profile description of Griffin silt loam;
1. Dark grayish-brown or brownish-gray finely granular silt
loam, neutral to alkaline in reaction.
2. Stratified fine sands, silts and clays, dark in color, mot­
tled, and often calcareous.
Variations

The texture is seldom uniform.

Topography
Drainage

Level with undulating or bumpy micro-relief.
Imperfect to poor.

Natural vegetation
Use

Elm, ash, maple, sycamore, basswood.

Chiefly pasture because of the susceptibility of flooding.

Distribution
Type location

Widespread throughout the United States (Azonalj.
Posey County, Indiana

Series established

HENNEPIN

Posey County, Indiana, 1902.

well-drained, redaina-like soils developed on steep,
stream-out slopes associated with the St. Clair, Con­
over, and Napanee series.

135
Profile description of Hennepin silt loam:
1* Dark gray humus soil neutral to alkaline in reaction and 2
to 4 inches thick*
2* Gray calcareous clay till*
Variations
Thickness of the surface layers vary according to the
slope gradient*
Topography
Drainage

Pound only on steep slopes*
Surface drainage excellentj internal drainage is slow*

Natural Vegetation
Use

Hardwoods*

Pasture and second growth timber*

Distribution

Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio*

Type location

St. Clair County, Michigan*

Series established
Map symbol

HILLSDALE

6

Indiana, 1928*

(carmineJ*

series are automorphic members of catenas developed
in sandy glacial till*

Profile description of Hillsdale sandy loam:
1* Forest litter and mould, 1 or 2 inches thick*
2. Dark gray humus soil neutral or slightly acid , 2 to 3
inches thick*
3* Light gray compact loamy sand, breaking into minute horiz­
ontal platesj medium acid, 6 to 10 inches thick*
4* Yellowish-brown loamy sand or sandy loam exhibiting a com­
pact blocky structure, 20 to 30 inches thick*
5* Calcareous sandy clay or clayey sand, considerable local ad­
mixture of gravel*
Variations Parent material varies from compact clayey sand thru
a clay loam to a fairly plastic gritty clay*
Topography

Undulating to hilly*

136
Drainage

Good, both external and internal*

Vegetation
Use

Hardwoods with a few red and white pines*

General farming*

Distribution

Southern Michigan*

Typo location

Hillsdale County, Michigan*

Series established
Map symbol

IOSCO

34

Livingston County, Michigan, 1923*

(red;*

developed in sandy materials superimposed over clay in
morainie drift areas*

Profile description of Iosco sandy loam:
1* Dark gray or grayish-brown sandy loam, 6 to 8 inches thick
(plow soil;*
2* A leached, ashy layer which is locally white, elsewhere
stained light brown* This layer is acid in reaction and
averages 12 inches thick*
3* A discontinuous dark brown cemented clayey sand layer, sel­
dom more than 12 inches thick*
4* Yellowish-brown sandy loam, frequently waterlogged*
5* Calcareous clayey drift at 2 to 3 feet below the surface*
Variations The most significant variation is in the depth to
the relatively impervious clayey substrata; conspicuous
variations are seen in the color and structure of the
sandy layers*
Topography
Drainage

Concave slopes, depressions! margins*
Imperfect

Natural Vegetation
Use

Hardwoods*

General farming and garden*

Distribution
Type Location

Central Michigan*
Bay County, Michigan.

137
Series established.
Map symbol

JEDDG

32

Bay County, Michigan, 1931.

(sepia).

is associated with the Napanee soils in St. Clair County.
It is hydromorphic but is dissimilar from Toledo and Brookston in that the surface and subsoil are acid, a condition
attributed to the large proportion of shale in the parent
material.

Profile description of Jeddo silt loams
1. Under cultivation the plow soil is a light gray, acid, gran­
ular silt loam, 8 to 10 inches thick, low in organic matter.
2. Mottled gray, gritty clay.
3. A compact gray clay mottled with brown.
4. Calcareous, shaley materials at depths of 3 feet or more.
Variations

The surface varies in organic matter content and
hence in color.

Topography

Plat, low plains and depressions associated with the
Napanee*

Drainage

Poor.

Natural vegetation
Use

Elm, ash, oak, hickory, basswood.

Cultivated and in pasture; fair beans, poor beet crops.

Distribution

St. Clair County, Michigan.

Type location

St. Clair County, Michigan.

Series established
Map symbol

KERSTON

1

St. Clair County, Michigan, 1928.

(green;.

series consists of one type only, a mucky alluvium as­
sociated with the Griffin and Genesee soils.

138
Profile description of Kerston mucks
1. Finely granular mucky loam or muck neutral to alkaline in
reaction*
2* Stratified mucky alluvium and sand, silt, and clay*
Variations

Chiefly in the organic content*

Topography

Flat and level*

Drainage

Poor*

Natural vegetation
Dse

Hydrophyllic plants, buttonbush, alder, cedar*

Pasture*

Distribution

In stream bottoms*

Type location

Menominee County, Michigan*

Series established
Map symbol

MACOMB

021

Menominee County, Michigan, 1925*

(azure;

includes imperfectly drained soils developed in thin, non­
conforming sandy layers over clayey calcareous glacial
drift in association with Miami, Berrien, Granby, and
Wauseon soils* Small stones are normally scattered from
the surface downward throughout the solum, although many
have been removed to facilitate cultivation*

Profile description of Macomb loam*
1* Grayish-brown fine granular loam containing fine sand in
many places, grading into a light grayish-brown material
which contains less organic matter; slightly acid to medium
in reaction; 8 to 10 inches thick*
2* Light-yellow friable clay or sandy clay which has more pro­
nounced horizontal than vertical cleavage, the layers being
from |t o 1 inch thick, grading into bright yellow or mot­
tled yellow andgray sticky sandy loam or friable sandy clay;
reaction slightly acid to alkaline; 14 to 18 inches thick*
3* Light yellowish-olive or yellowish-brown gritty calcareous
clay loam or clay*

139

Variations
g r itty

Topography
Drainage

Underlying materials vary from a moderately compact
elay loam to a fairly plastic clay*
Most areas are nearly level.

Fair or poor*

Natural vegetation

Elm* ash, some beech and maple*

After artificial drainage, medium yields of oorn, oats,
■wheat, beans, sugar beets, June clover, sweet clover and
alfalfa are obtained*
Distribution

Michigan

Type location

Northeastern Tuscola County, Michigan*

Series established
Map symbol

MAUMEE

38

Fulton County, Ohio, 1922*

(emerald green/*

includes poorly drained black soils developed from
waterlaid sandy materials which are neutral or alkaline
in reaction* The acid sandy soils with similar parent
material but with a lighter surface color constitute
the Newton series* The maumee soils differ from the
Bono soils in being developed in sands or very sandy
materials, while the Bono is developed in lacustrine
clays and silts*

Profile description of Maumee sandy loam:
1* Organic litter from trees, brush, or grass; in places, a
thin layer of muck*
2. Black sandy loam containing a high percentage of organic
matter. Slightly acid to slightly alkaline, 12 to 18 inches
thick*
3* A mildly alkaline to calcareous layer gray in color. In
places, the normal mottling segregates into a separate
brown layer*
Variations
In amount of lime in subsoil, and in the organic
content of the surface*
Topography

Nearly flat, low areas.

140
Drainage

Poor, covered with water unless artificially drained.

Vegetation
?se

Rushes, marsh grass, reeds, and water-loving trees.

Game cover. Drained areas grow fair corn.

Distribution

Minnesota to New York.

Type Location

Jasper County, Indiana.

Series Established
Map Symbol

NAPANEE

Porter County, Indiana, 1916.

21 (blue).

is comprised of automorphio soils developed in gray or
brownish-gray drift.

Profile description of Napanee silt loam:
1. One or 2 inches of leaf litter and mull.
2. Seven to 15 inches of smooth, slightly gritty silt loam, the
color grading downward from dark grayish-brown to light gray,
in some places stained with yellow or brown.
5. Ten to 15 inches of heavy silty clay mottled gray, yellow and
brown. Plastic when wet but readily breaks into small, bard
angular fragments when dry.
4. Slightly weathered and unweathered heavy drift. This parent
material is stony and gritty, and varies in color from gray
to brownish-gray.
Variations In drainage, depending on relief; and in oompositionof
the parent material which contains variable quantities of
shale.
Topography

Level to rolling.

Drfl'inafrei Imperfect because of the heavy parent materials.
Vegetation Beech, maple, oak, basswood, elm.
Use

General faming and dairying.

Pistribution

Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

Type Location

St Clair County, Michigan.

Series Established

Map Symbol

VanBuren County, Michigan, 1922.

02, 22
(violet/

141
OSHTEMQ

series includes soils developed on deep gravelly ouwash
and river tenches* It is associated with hoth the Podzol and the Gray-Brown Podzolic soils*

Profile description of Oshtemo sandy loams
1* About 2 inohes of forest litter and mould*
2* Two to 3 inches of friable dark gray or grayish-brown loamy
sand* acid to neutral in reaction*
3* Two to 3 inches of light gray platy acid loamy sand*
4* Brownish-yellow compact sandy loam 15 to 30 inches thick*
5* A thin, irregular, discontinuous layer of reddish-brown or
brown clayey sand and sticky gravel*
6* Crossbedded, stratified calcareous sands and gravels*
Variations
Surface variations in the texture of the parent mat­
erial regulate the rapidity of internal drainage which, in
turn, has created differences in the entire solum*
Topography
Drainage

Flat, sloping outwash plains and river benches*
Good, often excessive*

Natural vegetation
Use

Oak and pine*

Grains, com, and hay furnish good or fair yields*

Distribution

Lake States*

Type location

Kalamazoo County, Michigan*

Series established
symbol

OTTAWA

86

Kalamazoo County, Michigan, 1922*

(magenta,)•

includes sandy zonal profiles* These soils have devel­
oped on fine sandy glacial outwash materials like the
Plainfield and Berrien, but the calcareous silt and clay
strata are deeper in Ottawa than in the Berrien series*

Profile description of Ottawa loamy sand:
1* Forest litter, usually without a well-developed humus mat*
The thickness is rarely greater than an inch*

142
2. Very dark grayish-brown loamy fine and about 4 inches thick*
Strongly acid*
3* Strongly acid, brown incoherent loamy fine sand to a depth
of about 20 inches*
4* Yellowish—brown to yellow loamy sand* gradually becoming
lighter at greater depths* The thickness of this layer
may approach a maximum of about 2 feet* It is acid to neu­
tral in reaction*
5* Calcareous sand and fine sand with occasional thin strata
of silt or clay*
Variations

Depth and color of solum*

Topography

Nearly flat*

Drainage

Good*

Natural vegetation
woods^
Use

TOiite pine and a few other conifers and hard­

Forestry* vegetables* oats* com* and alfalfa* Yields* medium*

Distribution

Plains of Great Lakes Region*

Type location

Ogemaw County, Michigan*

Series established

Ogemaw County, Michigan* 1923*

Map symbol

45

(sienna)•

PLAINFIELD

series occur on deep, draughty sand plains where the
parent material is dominantly quarts sand*

Profile description of Plainfield loamy sands
1* Forest litter ranging up to a maximum thickness of about
1 inch*
2* About 3 inches of acid, grayish-brown loamy sand*
3* About 1 foot of yellowish-brown slightly loamy sand, loose*
unconsolidated* and acid*
4* Fifteen to 20 inches of bright yellow, loose, permeable
acid sand*
5* Yellowish or grayish stratified sands sometimes containing
gravel*

143
Variat io&s

A few gravelly areas are often included.

topography

Plat, level plains.

Drainage

Excellent, excessive*

natural vegetation
Pse

Scattered oaks and pine.

Extensive pasture, reforestation.

Distribution

Sandy plains of the Lake States.

Type location

Waushara County, Wisconsin.

Series established
Map symbol

SAUGAIUCK

47

Waushara County, Wisconsin, 1903.

(yellow).

is comprised of ground-water podzols developed in
deep, sandy materials.

Profile description of Saugatuck loamy sand:
1. Forest litter and mould, 1 to 2 inches thiek.
2. Humus layer is grayish-brown loamy sand, slightly acid in
reaction and 1 to 4 inches thick.
3. A conspicuous white sandy podzolized layer, acid in react­
ion. When dry, this harsh, gritty layer exhibits slight
evidence of cementation. It is 2 to 10 inches thick.
4* A firmly indurated ortstein, coffee-brown in color, acid
in reaction, and 6 to 24 inches thick.
6. Dingy gray, waterlogged acid sand.
Variations
The ortstein layer varies in color, induration,
thickness, and depth below the surface.
Topography Level plains with a bumpy micro-relief of the pitand-knoll type.
Drainage
Imperfect. Water-table varies between 2 and 4 feet
below the surface for a major part of the year.
Natural vegetation Originally pine, this land has generally
been cut-over and has now grown up to aspen, willow, and
alder with a dense bracken ground cover.

144
JJse

Litlie cultivated because it is a "coMtt soil. Some areas
are planted to corn, oats and pasture. A better use is,
perhaps, the production of pulpwood; or, for small areas,
management as game cover.

Distribution

Lake plains of Michigan.

TyPe Location

Bay County or Midland County, Michigan.

Series Established
Map Symbol

ST CLAIR

Allegan County, Michigan, 1901.

041, 41 (grouped-with associated soils;.

soils are zonal members of the Gray-Brown Podzolic
Group developed in exposed, fine-texfcured, calcareous
glacial till that is dominately brown in color.

Profile description of St Clair loam:
1. Leaf mould from deciduous trees. This layer is fairly well
decomposed, neutral or mildly alkaline in reaction, and 1 to
3 inches thick.
2. Two to 4 inches of grayish-brown loam, neutral or mildly
alkaline in reaction and darkly stained by infiltrated org­
anic matter.
3. Light yellow to ligfrt gray loam. Varying in thickness from
6 to 12 inches, this layer is definitely acid, and exhibits
evidence of a degraded structure. Major joints are horizon­
tal, imparting platy characteristics to the horizon. Struct­
ure junctions are vague, however, and the layer is every­
where pierced by a myriad of microscopic, angular interstices
and crevices. Slight pressure completely destroys this
skeletal structure, leaving a mass of harsh, ashy sand and
silt particles.
4. A transition layer varying in thickness from 2 tolO inoh.es
-which, in the upper part, resembles the layer above, but^
which gradual changes in character to resemble the material
below.
5.A heavy-textured layer varying in thickness from 8 to 24
inches, in reaction from slightly acid in the upper part to
slightly alkaline in the lower depths. This layer exhibits
a conspicuous structure of well-formed angular fragments
showing little orientation except for large crevices which,

145
as remains of early developed joints induced by drying tmf^
consequent shrinkage, extend vertically through the horizon
to penetrate the underlying uaweathered material* Individ­
ual fragments exhibit considerable heterogeneity in that
their cores appear relatively unweathered, being protected
by one or more layers of very fine materials accumulated on
surfaces bounding major percolation channels. Joint inter­
faces in a portion of this horizon are covered with brown
colloidal materials which impart a dark shade to the entire
layer, particularly when the solum is damp* Smooth stir­
faced cuts through the solum fail to exhibit these color
differences because of the relative small bulk of the joint
materials as compared to the exposed unweathered mass of
the severed fragments*
6* A transition layer between the materials above and below*
7* Relatively unweathered buff calcareous till* This material
is massive and compact, the upper portion severed by verti­
cal joint planes exbending down from the layers above* The
intersection of these vertical joints impart to the till a
rather massive columnar structure, the faces of the colum­
nar fragments exhibiting a whitish coating of precipitated
calcareous materials that asstones a greenish tint in places*
This layer is encountered at depths of 2 to 5 feet below
the surface*
Variations
The presence of slightly mottled subsoil layers where
thesurface approaches a degree of levelness* Water that
otherwise would run off is forced to percolate downward, de­
creasing seration and hence oxidation*
Topography
Drainage

Rolling and mildly dissected*
Surface drainage good, internal drainage slow*

Natural vegetation
Use

Hardwood*

Mostly cultivated, supporting general farming enterprises,
the more successful of which devote a high proportion of
land to pasture and meadow uses*

Distribution

Ohio, Indiana, and Southern Michigan*

Type location

St. Clair County, Michigan*

Series established
Map symbol

St* Clair County, Miohigan, 1929.

4, 14, S3

(carmine).

146
THOMAS

soils developed in shallow layers of sandy materials
overlying lake-laid clays. The profile is alkaline in
reaction throughout and contains shell fragments in the
lower horizons.

Profile description of Thomas loams
1. Dark brownish-gray, grayish-brown or black loam containing
large quantities of highly organic matter. Its thickness
seldom exceeds 14 inches.
2. Three
brown
3. Light
depth

to 4 inches of drab gray or mottled ©fay, yellow, and
silty or sandy clay containing shell fragments.
brown, yellow, and gray plastic clay extending to a
of many feet.

Variations
In some areas a thin, mucky layer constitutes the
surface.
Topography

Occupies relatively low, level areas.

Natural vegetation
Use

Sedge and bluejoint grass.

Beets, beans, corn, and wheat return good yields on arti­
ficially drained areas.

Distribution

Michigan.

Type location

Tuscola County, Michigan.

Series established
Map symbol

TOLEDO

Tuscola County, Michigan, 1926.

19, 29 (blue).

consists of the heaviest-textured hydromorphic soils of
the lacustrine lake plains. Surface layers contain high
quantities of organic matter and are underlain by smooth,
plastic, mottled subsoils. Neither pebbles nor coarse
sand are found within the profile although a few boulders
and erratics may be scattered about the surface.

Profile description of Toledo clay loams
1. A thin mat of forest litter and leafmold.
2. Dark gray, neutral to alkaline, granular silty clay loam, 5
or 6 inches in thickness. This layer is friable and easily
worked despite its heavy texture.

147
3. A dark gray* harsh silt loam* slightly acid in reaction nri^
2 or 3 inches thick.
4. A highly mottled gray plastic clayey layer* slightly acid
to neutral in reaction.
5. Bluish-gray plastic clay.
6. Calcareous gray clay and till materials at depths greater
than 3 feet.
Variations

The glei (Layer 2) may directly underlie the surface.

Topography

Low lying flat plains.

Drainage
Poor* internally because of fine texture and compact
structure* and externally because of the flat* level land
surface.
Natural vegetation
Pse

Elm* ash* silver maple* swamp white oak.

Nearly all areas are cultivated. When drained* this soil
produces high yields of beans* grains, corn* and beets.

Distribution

Lake plains of Ohio and Michigan.

Type location

St. Clair County, Michigan.

Series established
Map symbol

WALK ILL

09

Pulton County, Ohio* 1922.

(green).

is a colluvial series consisting of recently eroded mat­
erials of variable thickness on top of or mixed with
organic deposits. The areas occur in irregular depres­
sions in moraines.

Profile description of Walkill loam:
1* Dark grayish-brown* gray or black mucky colluvium resemb­
ling a loam in texture.
2. Organic materials.
Variations

The surface is not uniform in either texture or color.

Topography Alluvial fans and mucky colluvial wash in depressions
and along the margins of flat areas of organic soils.

14$
Drainage

Imperfect to poor*

Natural vegetation Sedges, cattails, button bush, dogwood,
arbor vitae, willows, alder, aspen* The vegetation is
not truly characteristic of this soil; rather it is char­
acteristic of the organic soil over which the wash has
accumulated.
Pse

General farming when included in rectangular fields; it
is often segregated as brushy waste land*

Distribution

Michigan*

Type location

Washtenaw County, Michigan*

Series established
Map symbol

WATJSEON

027

Sussex area, New Jersey, 1911*
(indigo)*

includes the hydromorphic members of catenas formed
in shallow sandy smears over clay* It is associated
with the Allendale and Arenac series*

Profile description of Wauseon sandy loam:
1* A thin layer of forest litter and mould*
2* A thick sandy loam humus layer, 6 to 8 inches deep, neut­
ral or slightly alkaline in reaction and dark gray to nearly
black in color*
3* A light gray harsh sandy layer, more acid than the overlying
humus horizon*
4* A light gray, waterlogged sand*
5* Mottled gritty clay*
6* Calcareous gray clayey materials at a depth of less than
40 inches*
Variations
The surfaee may contain considerable organic matter,
being nearly black in color, or the organic content may be
low and the surface light gray* The subsoil sandy layers
may also show some yellow coloring as in the Macomb series*
Topography
Use

Plat, wet sandy plains underlain by clay*

General farming*

Beans and potatoes produce good yields*

U9
Distribution

Lake plains of southern Michigan

Type locat ion

Fulton County, Ohio#

Series established
Map symbol

WKARE

48

Fulton County, Ohio, 1922#

(emerald green)#

includes soils developed in beach ridge material which
is dominantly quartz sand# These soils are often degrad­
ing ground-water podzols possessing fragmentary ortstein
layers#

Profile description of Weare fine sand#
1# A thin layer of litter, mould, and humus soil#
2#
3#
4#
5#

A thin layer of acid unconsolidated ashy fine sand#
Loose, yellow fine sand to depths of 1 or 2 feet#
A fragmentary relict ortstein#
Yellowish or grayish acid fine sand#

Variations Wind erosion develops many Mblow-outsM, exposing the
underlying layers#
Topography
Drainage

Low, broad, gentle, linear ridges#
Good, often excessive#

Natural vegetation
Use

Pine, cherry, oak#

Reforestation, recreation#

Distribution

Lake plains of Michigan#

Type location

Bay County, Michigan#

Series established
Map symbol

74

Bay County, Michigan, 1926#

tyellowj#

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slo p e s

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Beach

B o m b ynap; id) c m

m a t e r ia l s

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E r r a tic boulders i stones
G ravelly a re a s (in clay)
Sandy spots
(over clay)
C la ye y
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s

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